Moses Segokgo: The Patriot

By Lekopanye Mooketsi
Correspondent | Monday July 12, 2010 00:00

 

 Segokgo has worked for the Botswana Police for 38 years and is still serving the government but in a different capacity this time.  Segokgo is currently working as one of the tribal authorities at the Tlokweng kgotla. 

The no-nonsense Segokgo joined the Botswana Police in 1952 and retired in 1990 as an assistant superintendent.  He served the protectorate government for 14 years and independent Botswana for 24 years.  In his Kgotla office, Segokgo is still treasuring a picture of Independence day which shows him lowering the Union Jack (British flag) in Kasane to replace it with the new Botswana flag.  That was in 1966 when he was still a young officer. During his time as a police officer, he has served in every corner of the country.

His first station, after joining the police force was in Serowe. During that time, one did not undergo training as is currently the case.  You were just posted to your first station without any formal training.

It was only at a later stage that he attended training.  When he started as a police officer, he was attending to crime and general duties.  But he was later deployed to the para-military unit, Police Mobile Unit (PMU).

Other stations where Segokgo has served include Verda, Francistown, Kasane, Kanye, Lobatse, Tshesebe, Tuli Block, Sikwane and Orapa. At the time of his retirement, he was working as an instructor at the Botswana Police training centre in Gaborone.  Segokgo shows another picture of a group with the current Commissioner of Police, Thebeyame Tsimako when they were working together at the police college.  By then Tsimako who was holding the rank of senior superintendent was the commandant of the training centre.  Segokgo says he enjoyed working in all the places he was posted. 'I liked all the stations.  Our duties were to maintain law and order and it did not matter where you were posted,' he reminisces.  If it was possible for him, he could still go and work in Kgalagadi. As far as he is concerned, the duty of a police officer is to maintain law and order and also to protect people's lives and their properties.

'I still remember my transfers. I had 21 transfers,' said the much travelled former policeman.  Segokgo talks about the police service with nostalgia. He reflects that at the time when he joined the police force, things were tough.  'It was tough. He says they wore ammunition boots and accessories that were wrapped above foot wear.  There was also the starched khaki uniform.

But if there is one thing that Segokgo did not admire about the police force, it was the uniform of that time.  This was because the short khaki trousers exposed them to severe cold.    

They were also working under white bosses who regarded blacks as inferiors. The racist white bosses ill-treated their juniors. Segokgo recalls that their headquarters was in Mafikeng.  He mentions some of the commissioners he has worked under like M.R.D. Lengley and J.T.A. Bailey. 

At some stage, he recalls they were earning R15 per month.  'I remember when I bought a shot gun for R14 in 1956,' he says.

By then the government did not have many vehicles.  The common mode of transport for police officers included donkeys, camels, horses and bicycles.  'You could ride on a bicycle from Francistown to Plumtree,' says the former trooper.   During that time the country was not developed as it is today and the roads were almost non-existant.  Just travelling from Gweta to Nata in the Northern part of the country, used to take them such a long time.

Segokgo recalls that at one point, they found a Botswana Peoples' Party (BPP) delegation stranded in the bush. The delegation, which was led by the former BPP leader, the late Phillip Matante was on a campaign trail to Chobe.  But their vehicle got stuck in the mud.  Segokgo and his patrol team rescued the BPP delegation by pulling their vehicle out.  Looking back, Segokgo says during that time, they were also exposed to danger.  Not from criminals but they worked in wildlife infested areas.  But as police officers, they still had to take instructions. 

Some of their operations in the bush entailed trekking poachers.

As a police officer, Segokgo had a clean disciplinary record.  'I never had a problem of discipline.  I have always been disciplined even at school.  I have never drank alcohol nor smoked.'

This is a trait that he inherited from his father.  'I learnt discipline from my father who served in the Second World War. He was a disciplined old man,' he says. Segokgo is still a disciplinarian. Even when he was a police officer, he could not stand people who did not obey the law. He was tough with the law breakers.

He displays a whipping stick in his office which is always handy.  He prefers imposing corporal punishment on law breakers rather than sentencing them to jail. Segokgo is a man who abides by the book.  Just before the visit to his office, he was reading a copy of the Penal Code. He always wants to familiarise himself with the relevant Act before trying a case.

He considers himself to be conversant with the law.  'I learnt a lot when I was in the police service, I have only done Standard Seven,' he says. Segokgo recalls that during the colonial days, the rate of crime was very low.  'We could hardly register 10 cases a month,' he says. 

The prevalent offences during that time were those of poaching, minor assaults and common nuisance after drinking.  Francistown was one of the places which was a troublesome spot.  But even then there were no serious cases.  Sometimes it would just be a case of dagga smoking. 

Other crime spots that Segokgo talks about include Lobatse, Mahalapye and Palapye or what he calls the areas along the railway line. Segokgo says during the colonial era, the country was not densely populated. 

Segokgo led a good life as a police officer.  He bought his first Toyota vehicle in 1972 for R1,166. He later bought a huge Ford F250 for R6,000.  'I once bought 19 herd of cattle for R500 at Tuli Block. 

When I sold them at BMC, I made R2,000.  It was a lot of money that I even built a house.' Segokgo describes himself as a crack marksman.  He says during the old days when they were working in places like Chobe, they could be allocated a quota of wildlife.  This is how he practised his skills as a marksman. 

The Botswana Police Service still recognises the role that Segokgo and others of his ilk have played.  Segokgo still gets invitations to attend Botswana Police Service events.  The police still utilise his services by seeking advice from him.

The 78 year-old Segokgo wanted to take a well deserved rest when he retired from the police service.  But he was recalled to offer his services at the kgotla.  You cannot turn down a national call. Segokgo is also a cultural activist. 

When there are cultural events in Tlokweng, he can be seen clad in traditional gear or putting on a suit made of animal hides.  There is also another hobby that he does not forget to mention.

His other vocation is landscaping and he has registered a business company in this regard.

He has done landscaping in a number of police stations and government offices around the country. 

He learnt landscaping when he was a police officer.  Even part of the landscaping at the Tlokweng Kgotla was designed by him.