She made the remarks at her farewell party held at the prison officers’ mess in Village, Gaborone on Thursday night.
Marathe was recently transferred to the Botswana Police Service, where she is holding the same position after serving in prisons for two years. Addressing former co-workers, who organised the farewell party, she said her leaving prisons was an emotional and bittersweet moment where retracing her steps brought back memories. Marathe said she served most of her life in the Botswana Police Service as she had settled well in the environment.
“This can only be God for me to be loved this much.
It was through my then deputy, who is the current Prisons Commissioner, Anthony Mokento and his team’s support that I felt welcomed and ended up being loved this much. I even told police leadership that I was loved here and despite having rejoined the police service, I will forever love prisons,” said the ex-Commissioner of the Botswana Prison Service. Marathe said she believed she was shown such affection because she also tried serving with love and respect. She appreciated the fact that she was not the most qualified nor the most capable, but as a leader with a responsibility to give direction.
“My job was easy. I had to influence the team to use their expertise to take the service forward. When I arrived in 2021, I pleaded with the prison team to allow me to lead and look after them in return,” she said. “I plead with you to look after the prisoners, as I believe that I did my best to look after them... Together we can agree as a team our lives changed for the better.” Marathe further implored the current Prisons Commissioner, Mokento, to carry on where she left off and ensure service is put ahead of all else. Moreover, she thanked Minister of Defence and Security Kagiso Mmusi for his dedicated leadership and guidance. “I thank Mmusi for creating an environment that allows us to think outside the box and be fearless in trying new things.
If you come up with an idea, he will grab it and run with it and make it work. “I became a Commissioner here. Prisons made me a sharpened Police Commissioner trained by Prisons, and I will forever cherish their love,” she said. For his part, Mmusi identified Marathe as a great leader to juniors who learn from her leadership qualities because she is a woman of substance and has over the years achieved greatness. “I worked with you for five years as a Commissioner and I enjoyed working with you. We have all seen and experienced your dedication.
The truth is you have done greatness to the service and upgraded it, and your then deputies and I believe that they will take the service to greater heights. Marathe has brought experts to join and work for this service. “If you dropped the standards, you would have dropped her. Continue to uplift prisons to be the beacon of light,” Mmusi said.
