A long-time member of the Botswana National Front (BNF) who was the current Regional Chairperson for the Boteti region, Cde Keiketile “Slow” Gobotswang will be buried in his home village Moiyabana on Sunday 9th May 2021.
The fallen committed activist of the BNF, who was also councillor for Khwee ward in the Boteti East Constituency, died on the 4th May 2021.
According to BNF Information and Publicity SecretaryJustin Hunyepa, Cde Gobotswang was committed to the BNF revolutionary journey to emancipate the disadvantaged and marginalised rural communities who have “long been systematically trapped by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) unfriendly policies”.
The ward he represented, Khwee, lies in the deep fringes of the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, isolated and almost unknown, and is poorly underdeveloped, with a bad terrain and generally poor human services.
Hunyepa said in a statement that Cde Gobotswang lived in “this unenviable rural setting” with his predominantly Basarwa community, who are regarded as the first peoples of Botswana.
Gobotswang survived the ruthless and unfriendly opposition political trenches which are “funded by personal resources”, as he strove to keep the BNF fires burning all the time.
Hunyepa said that with a human heart, the “humble politician” did not despise the harsh realities Basarwa lived in, but vowed to proffer solutions through his advocacy in the council chambers.
The marginalised community, according to Hunyepa, cried for “decent living and emancipation” from the clutches of “dehumanising poverty” in a region well-endowed with tourism opportunities and all sorts of minerals, and the “most expensive diamonds in the world being a stone’s throw away from Khwee in Letlhakane and Orapa”.
He promised that the BNF, and its opposition partners under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), will continue Gobotswang’s revolutionary journey to remove the BDP from power, and economically empower all citizens who are poor in their rich country.
BNF President Cde Duma Boko and his Central Committee, and the general membership also sent their heartfelt condolences to the Gobotswang family, Khwee community, Boteti Sub-district, the Central District Councils and the nation at large.
