Sometime in February 2003, on a warm Saturday morning people gathered to mourn the passing of a friend's son in Phakalane. Amongst the invited guests were Lebang Mpotokwane, Motlhabane Maphanyane and Sam Mpuchane - all retired senior civil servants and long-time friends - who formed a small group of their own after the proceedings had concluded.
It was not long before the casual chatter turned towards debate regarding the country's political condition, as it often did when they were together. What set this particular occasion apart was that it was on this occasion that they took the fateful decision to stop simply complaining about the shortcomings they saw in their country's democracy and actually attempt to bring positive change. The result was the formation of the Committee for Strengthening Democracy in Botswana (CSDB) and though it currently stands as no more than an informal group of politically non-partisan citizens, the founding members have already demonstrated their willingness to take decisive action by playing a key role in the joint cooperation talks of Botswana's opposition parties. Nonetheless, this bold endeavour has proved to be no easy task.
