Khama The Comedian
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday June 12, 2017 15:49
With a few months left before he vacates office, Khama seems to be keen to add more to his various talents.
On Friday, Khama showed that he still has a few tricks up his sleeve when he displayed one of his new-found skills, comedy, which hitherto some people were not aware that he is capable of doing. In the history of Botswana, former President Sir Ketumile Masire is the one renowned for passing countless jokes during Kgotla meetings across the country. Masire could even go to the extent of using jokes and riddles to answer some of the questions that he was asked.
The way people roared with laughter when Khama cracked some jokes at the Donga Customary Court was arguably going to pale some local comedians into insignificance.
The President started by showing that with time, if his comedy skills can be honed, he might become a comedian of repute and his listeners would literally eat out of the palm of his hand. Khama’s jokes cracked the ribs of most people who attended the Kgotla meeting. The President really ambushed them with his jests.
He said: “Some of my detractors criticise me when I acknowledge that there is a problem of shortage of classrooms around the country, but I will continue saying so”.
Khama was responding to the chairperson of Donga Ward Development Committee Odirile Ngenda who said there was shortage of classrooms at Donga Junior Secondary School.
He continued from where he left, this time touching a little bit about his successor. “I don’t know who my detractors will attack next year after I leave office. Government has many problems to attend to like maintenance of roads, schools and many other teething problems.
We have a tendency of increasing babies in Botswana forgetting that if the population increases, our budget for building more classrooms will also run short,” said Khama the rib cracker in jest to another big round of laughter.
On a serious note to what Ngenda said, Khama stated that one of the objectives of the Economic Stimulus Package was to build more classrooms and houses for teachers. Unbeknown to many Khama still had more jokes up his sleeve.
This time he surprisingly aimed his barb at a man of the cloth, Pastor George Callender of the Anglican Church. Pastor Callender had earlier on opened the Kgotla meeting with a prayer.
Khama said to another round of applause when donating 10 Bibles to Callender: “I am not giving you calendars. I am giving you Bibles so that you go and give them to other pastors in Francistown”.
While saying so, the President was not aware that the calendar he was referring to in his joke, which many people associate with the dates, is different from the name of pastor Callender who is originally from the Caribbean island of Guyana.
The President’s best comic moment came when he gave Chilume Mbulawa of Mazganda.com, an Mpaxanga ensemble, money for earlier on serenading the gathering with a traditional song. When entertaining the gathering, Mbulawa constantly erotically moved his waist in a bid to captivate the crowd. Said Khama when presenting the money to Mbulawa:
“If you are playing music you should try to control your waist because the way you are moving your waist is not our culture”. After Khama joked about the way Mbulawa was dancing, a loud bout of laughter never heard before when he joked erupted inside the Kgotla. Some people said although Khama is yet to perfect his Setswana, he really surprised and amazed them with his jokes.