Maele in Lion skin scandal
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The Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services Prince Maele is at the centre of a controversial installation of a Headman of Arbitration in his home village of Goo-Tau.
Minister Maele had convinced Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama to give a lion skin from the Department of Wildlife to drape his nephew, Oitsile Maele who was installed headman of arbitration at Monneng ward in the midst of disagreements among the GooTau tribesmen as to who is the rightful candidate for the post.
First the Bangwato tribal authorities are incensed because the Minister used his position to disregard the process of installing a headman; while the Office of the President is also following up on the issue for what is alleged to be possible insubordination on the part of Minister Maele; the paternal uncles in Goo-Tau are also not happy because the Minister failed to cooperate with them when they advised him that he should not drape his nephew with a lion skin because it was unprocedural; and last the Tribal Authorities are not happy because Oitsile Maele’s name was never approved or at least submitted for consideration and recommendation by the Minister of Local Government, Slumber Tsogwane.
Asked for comment, Minister Tsogwane flatly refused to talk about the issue because he felt that “the owners of these issues should deal with them because they never bothered to notify his office in the first place of their intention to install a headman.” The Minister insisted that it is important to follow protocol so as to avoid controversy. This publication learns that Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane had written twice to Minister Maele warning him not to go ahead with the installation of his nephew as headman. Kgamane had received complaints against the move from the other section of Goo-Tau village who were against Oitsile Maele’s candidacy.
Kgamane had advised that there should be a letter from the Ministry confirming the candidate and giving the green light to the ceremony. But above all, it is understood that Kgamane was shocked when he learnt that the headman will be draped with a lion skin. Minister Maele was at the forefront of making the event a success hence he ensured that there was pomp and glamour spicing it with a lion skin draping.
Sources point out that Minister Maele is not in good terms with his paternal uncles who also lay claim to the position of headman. Oitsile Maele, who was installed recently, is a son to the current chief of Goo-Tau, Maele Maele who was voted headman of records in 1985 after controversially defeating Boitumelo Gaborone. He has not been promoted since his election, the village remains divided because it has no birthright chief.
THE LATE NIGHT CEREMONY AND LION SKIN SEIZURE
It has been established that Oitsile Maele was draped with a lion skin in the cover of night. There were dignatories from Petermaritzburg (Bapedi) who had come to witness the occasion. Civil servants were instructed to ignore the ceremony. It is understood that upon being contacted Tshekedi Khama made it clear that he was not aware that the lion skin was going to be used for purposes of installing a headman of arbitration. Weekend Post gathers that officers from the Wildlife Department and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) had to storm Goo-Tau at night to confiscate the lion skin.
But indications are that Maele and his team had learnt of the operation and he draped his nephew with the lion skin late at night before the actual ceremony the following morning. By the time the officers dispossessed the Maele’s of the lion skin, Oitsile Maele had already been draped in it and a few pictures taken. The Maele name came into contact with bogosi in Goo-Tau in 1985 after an election. Some in Goo-Tau are calling for fresh elections to elect a kgosi because “in any event” it is not a birth right of the Maele’s.
Minister Maele may have to explain why he disregarded the warnings from the Bangwato Regent, Sediegeng Kgamane. He may also have to explain why he chose to sideline the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development when he installed his nephew as headman of arbitration. Meanwhile Kgamane is said to be unhappy because someone else was draped with a lion skin in his territory without his knowledge. However, when contacted for comment Maele feigned absolute ignorance on the matter. He rerouted this publication to Tshekedi Khama, “who might tell you who he gave the skin to.” “I absolutely don’t know anything about that. It’s the first time I hear of such. You can ask him, (Tshekedi) maybe he will tell you who he gave the skin to, “he said curtly.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.