Motswaledi�s Death Should Unite Not Divide Us
Dumelang Saleshando | Monday August 11, 2014 14:02
The BCP was invited by the Motswaledi family to speak at his memorial service at the UB stadium as well as at his funeral in Serowe.
I accepted the invitation and delegated Rammidi to speak at the UB stadium on behalf of the BCP. Rammidi served with Motswaledi in the BDP youth league and I wanted him to give a first hand account of the strengths of his departed colleague. As we all know, UDC members invaded the UB pitch demanding that the BDP should not address the memorial service and a decision was made by their leadership to also exclude the BCP.
I proceeded to Serowe this morning to pay my last respects to Motswaledi. I was moved by the speeches made by his father and brother, who both pleaded for tolerance and that the death of their child, should not be used to malign others and threaten the peace we all cherish.
On my arrival, I was briefed by the family that I was part of the programme. They, however, further indicated that they were aware that there were some at the funeral who planned to disturb proceedings should I be allowed to address the mourners. They promised to observe the situation and keep me posted. We agreed that if in their assessment, there was a danger that my address could lead to a disruption of the proceedings by UDC supporters, I would not speak to allow for a smooth flow of the programme and avoid a repeat of the UB fiasco.
As the programme progressed, I was advised by the family that it was clear that there was a plan to disrupt the programme if I spoke and I agreed that they should delete me from the programme. The MC announced that together with the BDP representative, I would not address the mourners. The announcement was met with cheers and whistling from the UDC supporters. I was later informed that the tension was deteriorating, particularly when the UDC Gaborone Central campaign manager announced in his address that Gomolemo o bolailwe ke go batla bo palamente jwa Gaborone Central. More UDC members were still to speak and my colleagues advised that we should leave and not be the source of disruption to the proceedings of a man we all respected and held in high esteem. I took the advice and left out of respect for the family. The last thing they needed was to witness a repeat of the UB stadium embarrassment.
Later, the UDC National Chair (Motlatsi Molapisi) informed Gabz FM that we should never have been welcome to the funeral. Clearly, this is a first in the politics of Botswana.
I think Motswaledi deserved better. As a nation we should have united to bid him farewell. He sincerely wished well for all of us. He knew that we did not all need to share a common political platform, but we needed each other as human beings.I hope that this new culture of sheer intolerance does not become entrenched in our society. I would still like to have a drink with my UDC friends and exchange notes on some of the issues that we agree on.
I hope that most Batswana can see beyond our political differences. Nation building requires that we must be each others gate keepers, not enemies as suggested by the UDC chair.
I pray that the soul of Gomolemo Motswaledi will find undisturbed peace until we are reunited on Judgement Day...