Much has been written about the Soweto Uprising or June 16. This day, now a public holiday - Youth Day, in South Africa is commemorated across Africa as a day signifying the role of youth in politics, in particular their role in overthrowing apartheid and bringing democracy to South Africa and by extension to the African continent. June 1-30 has since been declared the month of youth. We do not intend to belabor this message with the details of June 16 events.
The youth in Botswana should on this day introspect on their role in Botswana politics. What kind of change is desirable for Botswana? How can the youth bring about that change? When the African National Congress (ANC) and its subsidiary organisations as well as other anti-apartheid organisations were banned in the 1960s, they went underground and subsequently the political leadership was either in exile or in prison. The ANC, which was at the forefront of liberation, was moribund for a long time following the incarceration and exile of its leaders. It is the youth (and to a large extent, the labour movement) who resuscitated the hope of overthrowing apartheid state.
