Culture Day celebrates Lobatse�s history

Tumelo Mouwane | Tuesday March 1, 2016 14:44

 

The event gathered Dikgosi from different villages that had a chance to share ideas concerning their roles as leaders.

Activities for the day included dikgafela, traditional dance, dikhwaere, traditional games, poetry and traditional attire display.

The celebrations were aligned with Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Different speakers acknowledged Lobatse as the first town in Botswana.

Speaking at the occasion, Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Balete said Lobatse played a pivotal role in the development of the country before and after independence. Seboko further said Lobatse should be at the centre of Botswana 50th anniversary celebrations.

“Lobatse played a pivotal role in development of the now Botswana, many services and government offices were initially in Lobatse since it was our first town.

I worked in a Bank here for more than 20 years and I am of the view that Lobatse deserves to be a pivotal role player heading to the 50th anniversary celebrations,” Seboko said.

She further emphasised the recognition of the Dikgosi. She said Dikgosi were and continue to be major role players in insuring security and development of the country hence she advocated that the government should erect statues for some chiefs who played such roles in the past.

“Dikgosi played a crucial role in ensuring our nation’s security before and after gaining independence. We advocate that those who did such a mammoth task be respected with statues,” she said.

The Balete Kgosi disparaged the escalating level of immorality and crime in the country, calling for all stakeholders to take part in combating such.

“Our main role in culture as chiefs is to mould dignified citizens, but we record   high levels of indiscipline, teenage pregnancies, rape, passion killings, divorce and other immoral activities. It is high time chiefs stand up to help the government combat such,” she said.

Other activities of the day included explanation of several taboos (meila) which were respected in the past and why they were put in place.

A senior citizen who grew up in Lobatse shared a story of how Lobatse came to be. He outlined how services such as the post office, passenger train, banks, hospitals and many government offices started in Lobatse.