How Miss Bots organisers tried to cash half a million pula from Khama

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday November 8, 2010 00:00

 

Khama was just about to act when a surprised Emma upon learning of the request from other sources, impressed upon the President not to honour it (the BCW request of P500 000).According to her mother, Emma was furious that the BCW could request for such a huge amounts behind her back.

Little did the BCW officers know that in actual fact the President had weeks earlier invited the Miss Botswana queen to his office and asked her to say how she would like to be assisted in her new role. Emma's mother says at that meeting with the President, Emma clearly stated to Khama that she was not looking for any monetary assistance, except to be assisted in logistics so that where ever she goes, the District Commissioners could take care of her as she continues her charitable causes as the Miss Botswana.Emma had told the President that she would like to embark on a project to help the displaced people of the Okavango.Emma's mother says she was disappointed with the Miss Botswana organizers, who also wanted to hurry her daughter into starting her tours of the Okavango even before she had mobilized resources.A sad sounding mother says during one of the fund raising event for this mission, the organizers embarrassed the queen by ordering her to surrender her sash, because they said she came late to the event.

'It broke my heart as a mother because they had not given the child any cell phone to call her on, she was using my cell phone. They had not arranged for a transport to come and pick her at her home in Gabane, and worst of all nobody had called to check why she was coming late. The truth of the matter was that at that time, Emma had an emergency, her father was not feeling well.  I was also not home at the time, but they responded with threats of taking the crown from her, it made her cry', said the queen's mother.