Politicians honour Merafhe
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday January 8, 2015 12:57
Merafhe died yesterday morning after a long undisclosed illness.According to the former Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) chairman Daniel Kwelagobe, Merafhe served the country with distinction and honour in particular during the time he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 until 2008.
“He did so well for the ministry (Foreign Affairs) and painted a good image of the country to the outside world. Again he will be remembered as someone who cared a lot about Botswana, wanted to see developments in the country,” he said.
He said even though they differed on a few issues, more especially in matters of politics, the two men had a good working relationship at BDP headquarters, Tsholetsa House.
“We supported one another when it came to issues we agreed on,” said Kwelagobe. “Le ha ne le sa dumalane ha bona gore mogopolo o ntsha maduo a nang le boleng, o tla go ema nokeng le go gaisa. (Even when he disagreed with you, when your ideas bore fruit, he would be more supportive.) ”
According to Kwelagobe, Merafhe was a different kind of a politician that was not afraid to express his views, even when they were not popular. “At the same time Merafhe was someone who allowed others to freely express their views without suppression,” said Kwelagobe.
On Wednesday opposition leaders also paused to pay tribute to Merafhe.
To Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) chairman Nehemiah Modubule, Merafhe was one of the best Foreign Affairs ministers the country has ever had. Modubule, however, feels that Merafhe was a divisive figure in Botswana politics. He said the former VP will also be remembered for the reckless and insensitive statement he made following the killing of John Kalafatis by security agents. Merafhe had responded, “ …one or two shootings could not dent the country’s reputation…”
For his part, the Botswana Congress Party president Dumelang Saleshando described Merafhe as an assertive leader. “That was his strong and weakest point because he could make members (of Parliament) to understand his point. Again he could be brutal with his language when expressing his point, which was his weakest point,” Saleshando said.