A rollercoaster year for the creatives

Mapetla’s untimely deathEarlier in March, the nation was plagued by grief following the tragic death of talented Kwaito star, Thabo ‘Mapetla’ Ntirang. The 41-year-old musician died in the early hours of Monday, March 4, 2024, succumbing to injuries he sustained in a car accident that happened in Phakalane. Mapetla, who shot to fame at the age of 23 in the early 2000s when his kwaito album, Phantsi’ Phezulu, took the country by storm, had become a household name in the local music scene. His death soured the mood and plunged the nation into mourning.

The NACB squabbleWhile the boardroom war at the National Arts Council of Botswana (NACB) started last year after the then CEO, Shombie Ellis, was suspended indefinitely, things took an interesting twist early this when the matter reached Parliament. The then Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, was at pains to explain to Parliament the real issues at the Council. A month later, Ellis was reinstated following an inquiry into the matter, whose results were not made public. But the issue resurfaced again in October when Ellis was fired from her post, prompting her to seek legal redress from the High Court.