This makes him the longest-serving councillor in Selebi-Phikwe, having represented the ward since 1989. Early this week, Mmegi tracked down the veteran politician and found him at his favourite spot; the council chambers. Chamme reflects on the highs and lows of a career that many acknowledge is a thankless job and is often referred to as "a dirty game". A former soccer player, Chamme was attracted to politics during his middle age and first contested for a council seat back in 1979 under the Botswana National Front (BNF) ticket. He contested in what was then known as Extension One, the present Leseding Ward, but lost to a Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) candidate. Chamme garnered a paltry 50 votes but this did not deter his resolve to enter the council chamber. Instead, his poor showing galvanised him to put extra effort in his campaign and this was evident in the next election in 1984 when he polled a massive 433 votes in Leseding ward but still lost. "After my poor showing in 1979, I did not lose heart, but I kept on campaigning," Chamme recalls. He says together with current Botswana Congress Party (BCP) President, Gilson Saleshando, they mounted vigorous campaigns as opposition politics remained largely in the peripheries for most voters back then. The ruling BDP, like most liberation parties in Southern Africa, was seen as a party that had brought independence to the majority and therefore it was largely regarded as invincible.
The entry of BNF leader, Kenneth Koma, into parliament back in 1984, however, radically changed that perception and gave other opposition activists a glimmer of hope.
