Tribute to Lizo Zola Ngcongco
Friday, April 16, 2021
We were clustered in Office 6, on the fourth floor of the Barclays Bank Building where the Prosecutions Department, of the Attorney General’s Chambers, was housed, before it moved to the grand offices of the Attorneys General’s Chambers Building, and then, to Khama Plaza, its final grave. It was custom then, for those that had no court attendances on a particular day, to meet in that office, where both tea, and wisdom were generously served. It was the perfect cradle for aspiring young prosecutors in the formative years of their careers.
The name Lizo, evoked that feeling, not unlike that felt when a young lawyer first stands alone, before a Judge. It is an experience one can never prepare for. You spend a whole night, quoting the Constitution to a mopstick. The name Lizo Ngcongco had been with me since High School. I had read it over and over again.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...