Mapeke laid to rest

GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writer | Monday June 4, 2012 00:00

 

Mapeke, 53, was described by speakers at his funeral as a 'pathfinder' and a 'pioneer' in working for the rights of people living with disabilities. Speakers at the funeral, including Minister of Transport and Communications Nonofo Molefhi and former Ministry of Education and Skills and Development (MoESD) spokesperson, Nomsa Zuze, agreed that Mapeke was a man of great character who did not let his visual impairment get in the way of his goals.

Perhaps this was best illustrated by an anecdote told by a representative of Tertiary and Allied Workers Union (TAWU), of which Mapeke was a member, of how he (Mapeke) came to be the first Motswana without a drivers' licence to buy a car. Edward Tswaipe, vice-president of TAWU, remembered back in the day when the country's laws did not allow anybody without a drivers' licence to buy a car. He said Mapeke, who could not get licensed because of his visual impairment, had decided to buy a car, and he fought with the government until he was able to buy the car. 'That is when I really saw his character. Because I could see in the calm way that he was fighting, that he was not just doing it for himself, he was doing it for the generations of other people with disabilities who would not be able to get licences,' he said.

Speaker after speaker told of Mapeke's independence, his single-mindedness and his great leadership skills with which he mentored many, as well as his intelligence. Former University of Botswana (UB) lecturer Dr Rodgers Molefi, who taught Mapeke, said he once awarded him 86 percent on a particularly difficult paper, and an external examiner later said the paper actually deserved 97 percent. Mapeke is thought to be one of the first Batswana with visual disabilities to graduate with a Masters Degree. He graduated from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) with a Masters Degree in Education in 1992, and before that had done a double major in English and History at UB.

He was also applauded for his commitment to fighting for the rights of the visually impaired as well as people living with other disabilities. In his lifetime, he was founder and executive member of many of these non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Botswana Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted, Botswana Society of People Living with Disabilities, Sir Seretse Khama Memorial Fund, National Coordinating Committee for People Living with Disabilities and the Botswana Federation of the Disabled. He was chairman of the Botswana Council for the Disabled for 10 years, at a time of donor flight, when the organisation was struggling to survive because of lack of funds, according to a representative from the council. He was credited with getting financial support from government for the council. He was also in charge of developing curriculum for HIV training for people living with disabilities, and sat on the board of Pudulogong Rehabilitation Centre. Thomas Motingwa, the head of the coordinating office for people living with disabilities in the Office of the President (OP), credited Mapeke with teaching him the politics of being an activist for the rights of the disabled. Motingwa said that even today, he is inspired by words uttered by Mapeke, when he said 'There is ability in disability,' and when speaking at a forum in Lesotho when he said 'People living with disability are the ones that understand the shell of disability'.

By the latter, Motingwa explained that the late activist meant that no solutions could be found for people living with disabilities without their involvement, as they best understand what solutions they need. Head of the Botswana Public Officers College (BPOC), at which Mapeke started his professional career in 1986, while the college was still known as the Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce (BIAC), said his (Mapeke's) hard work ensured him steady promotions. When he died, he was Principal Trainer in the Research Department for the BPOC.

Molefi said in his first years of work, he was inspired by Mapeke's attitude of living without complaints and despair despite his disability. He encouraged mourners to take comfort in all Mapeke had done for the country. 'It is not usual that one without sight can lead those who can see,' he said.  But perhaps most poignantly it was Tswaipe who asked if people really appreciate the work done by people like Mapeke, because their death leaves a huge gap. Mapeke was born in Francistown and did his primary and secondary schooling in Mochudi (Linchwe Primary and Molefi Secondary schools) before going to UB. He is survived by four children, and an older sister.