Church strips naked

Lekopanye Mooketsi | Monday June 30, 2014 06:59

Some of the acts at the show should have been marked Parental Guidance (PG) as there were small children who attended the dinner dance with their parents.  

The Calvary church staged a beauty contest as part of the fund raising dinner.  But at some stage you would have mistaken the contestants for ladies of the night who parade their wares just across the street outside the Gaborone West Community Hall, where the event was hosted. 

A stout female artist, BoyGal who was geared in overalls, set the ball rolling with her show as if ushering in what was  to come.  BoyGal’s female dancers who were too scantily dressed for a church event, engaged in dirty dancing.  And then BoyGal sang “Manopo wee mosadi ke wena wa seaka”. This is a horrific description of a promiscuous woman. 

But more drama was to unfold when the beauty contest started. First the male partners of the beauty contestants romped the stage  showing off their sexy sides in vests. But what raised eyebrows the most was the attire of the beauty contestants who accompanied their male counterparts.  

They entered the stage baring flesh. The young church members attire left very little to the imagination. 

They donned bras and hot pants, exposing most parts of their bodies. They also exposed their underwear.  One girl had even unzipped her short pants, exposing her underwear, while another flashed tattoos on her thighs. As if that was not enough the girls engaged in wild dance amid cheering from members of the audience.

 Some of the participants were twerking and doing erotic dances. Sipping their coca-colas and fantas,  members of the audience who are church members were cheered wildly and screamed. The only difference with this show and a scene in a raunchy nightclub was that there was no alcohol served.  

When he was asked about the appalling development, one of the elders of the church, Onkemetse Sikwa said they have a strict dress code, adding that they do not allow that type of attire in their church. But he said this was just  a special moment meant for entertainment purposes. 

He added that  the young church members were show casing their talent. Sikwa said in their church, women are supposed to put on long dresses and head scarfs. They are not supposed to expose sensitive parts of their bodies. He said for men it is strictly jackets. 

On Saturday, members of the church who graced the dinner dance, were clad in casual attire with some of the ladies even putting on jeans. There was no woman wearing a scarf.  

But Sikwa pleaded: “please don’t write anything negative about us otherwise we will bewitch you.”  

On the other hand, the dinner dance was full of entertainment with various performances. It was quite an exciting evening.   Sikwa himself was one of the artists who performed, giving a spectacular act. 

When Sikwa took to the stage, the entire hall  shook with  his moving music.  A two man poetry and comedian act came up with a rendition of “Bagammagwato ba ga mabiletsa”. 

There was also a Shumba Ratshega-like traditional group called Merebo which gave a good account of themselves. A hired DJ was on stand by to spin the discs when the artists were not performing. Apparently most of the acts who performed were members of the church but they showed so much talent. 

This time the church members had taken a break from their usual hymns and prayers. They wanted to have a ball.  

The party went on until the wee hours of the morning when the beauty queens were crowned. Shanah Setlhabi who partnered with Sikwa, was declared the beauty queen. 

The first princess was Phomolo Masege who was partnered by Samuel Phemelo while the second princess is Lesegonyana Motlhaleng and her partner was Keoagile Pogiso.  

President of the Botswana National Sports Council Solly Reiketseng officiated at the event and urged the church members to turn the fund raising dinner into an annual affair.  He proposed that the church should set a fund raising committee of which he volunteered to become a member.  

 Reikeletseng said it was high time that Batswana developed their churches to become international brands that could be exported to other countries. 

Meanwhile, Sikwa who was also celebrating his 40th birthday that evening, said the dinner dance was quite a successful event.  

He revealed that they raised around  P20,000.  He said part of the proceeds will be donated to Rankoromane Centre for People with Disabilities and Childline.  He said they have long term relationship with the Rankoromane Centre.  

The dinner dance was held to raise funds to buy  a plot for the church according to officials.  Calvary Church which is a break away of Eloyi, was formed in 2000.  The church has branches in Old Naledi, Mogoditshane, Metsimotlhabe and the main branch in Mahalapye.