From the front row to the turbulence :: Mmegi Online

Yesterday (18 February 2026), my phone rang with a voice I had not heard in years. “Dumela rra! A ke Thomas Nkhoma? Ao dumela tlhe monna! Ke Lesedi Mothibamela. I just wanted to say hi.” Indeed, it was Lesedi Mothibamele, the former Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning. Time has a way of softening titles and in that moment, it was not a minister calling. It was a fellow traveller from another chapter of life.

We spoke warmly at first. The usual catching up and then, almost inevitably, our conversation drifted back to 1997. Not to speeches. Not to budget statements. But to the sky above Kinshasa.

In my years as a journalist, I have had what many would call a front-row seat to history. I interacted with Rev. Jesse Jackson who passed away recently at 84. I covered five of Botswana’s presidents (Sir Ketumile Masire, Dr Festus Mogae, Lt Gen Ian Khama and Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi) at AU and SADC summits. I stood in press pools that included world leaders such as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. There were motorcades, state banquets, carefully choreographed diplomacy, the kind of moments that make for framed photographs and polished headlines.

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From the front row to the turbulence

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