This is the unambiguous statement sent by the Botswana Football League Disciplinary Committee through a ruling handed down to Security Systems coach, David Botlhasitse, last week. The BFL prosecutor, Makungekwa Maswabi set the ball rolling by determining the need to escalate the case to the DC. Botlhasitse was found guilty of using a derogatory word 'lekwerekwere' against Gaborone United goalkeeper coach, Khalid Niyonzima, during a league match last November. The word is recklessly used in today's society as a demeaning way to refer to foreign nationals.
The BFL could have dismissed the matter on the ground that, though undesirable, it's a common society wide practice. But fittingly, the football authorities saw the need to press charges and set an example through Botlhasitse that discrimination has no place in football. In fact, focusing on someone's race, nationality or tribe speaks volume about your character, where assassinating their personality takes precedence over substance. It gives one a false sense of superiority that because you were born within a certain geographical location, or to a certain race or tribe, you are supreme to other beings. But Botlhasitse and others of his ilk know very well that this is a false and dangerous narrative devoid of any truth. However, they still use it to demean other human beings to stroke their inflated egos, or to knock your self-esteem where one is made to feel inferior.
