Shashe

 In the distant past I posted that Germans are Badusi , meaning "those who take out", or extractors. I stated that what they were responsible for extracting was blocks of pyramid stones. While they may well have engaged in pyramid building exercise in Egypt, ( Ka Mabunde ), I now believe that their name emanates from metal smelting and/or general metal works at Mapungubwe, the craddle of humanity. What they extracted was hot molten or semi molten metal from furnaces and smelters. I now believe that originally the workgroup's name was Badusi. This is the name by which the Germans (Deutsh) and the east African Tutsis (WaTutsi) call themselves. Subsequently the group morphed into Bathuli and BaHerero as the gods refined the group's skills to that of blacksmiths. In Kalanga "Bathuli" means blacksmiths, as does the Spanish name Herero. Let us first look at the Herero. In Kalanga they are "derogatively" referred to as "BaTamma". The real name i...

 One of the most heartwarming moments of this season was triggered by a 3 minutes tail end of a TV program last Sunday when two descendants of the German general LothaVon Trotha met the Herero chief Maherero to talk about, among other things, the German conducted genocide of the Herero people in Namibia. What made the moment so heartwarming is the fact that Germans are Hereros, after all.  Yes, just as Russians are Bakhurutshe, so Germans are Baherero. Forget the color difference; the two belong to the same Anunnaki workgroup - Bathuli! 

 The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) which by the way has ruled since our attainment of Independence in 1966, promised us voters at the last election (2019) that it would conduct a review of the republic's constitution if returned to power. BDP was returned to power, and so it is expected that the constitutional review will start soon. As I have posted before, constitutional review is best done top/down; not bottom/up. But there is an even greater concern than the direction of review. Our current constitution was drawn under the direction and tutelage of Great Britain as the then colonial master. At the core, the document is based on what the British called "a tribe". There are, mentioned  in there, Principal and other tribes.  But the British never defined "tribe". Presumably, as the colonial master they did not have to. But should we have carried on using the document as an independent country for half a century without even trying to define the word ...

 Let me state unequivocally that I am not, never have been, a member or a sympathizer of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). I am a patriot, loyal to the Republic, and have been confused with BDP sympathizers merely because as a civil servant, all my energy had to be expended in full cooperation with the ruling party, which unfortunately happened to be the BDP. But my loyalty all that time was to the Republic and not to the BDP. This same loyalty to the Republic leads me to critically look at the behavior of the opposition political parties. The opposition collective, me included, have often expressed their (our) conviction that the top civil servants, such as Permanent Secretaries, are appointed on the basis of their loyalty to the ruling party (BDP). We believe that unless the BDP has full "political" trust in you, you will never make it to the top rungs of the civil service ladder, no matter how efficient or knowledgeable a worker you may be. But herein lies the conundrum...

 The current heckling in Parliament is nothing more than a clever ploy by the Botswana Democratic Party  (BDP) to sidestep the election promise it made to our people (BeShashe) to review the constitution if returned to power. Look, the constitution is the supreme law. Every other law which fails the test of being constitutional is struck down. Review of the constitution therefore must be top-down. If the BDP really meant what it said when it made the promise to review the constitution, the current debate in Parliament would be over one overarching concern which could also serve as the preamble to our new constitution:  ALL BOTSWANA TRIBES ARE EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW. A TRIBE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS SUCH, AND WHO SHARE A COMMON TRAIT, SUCH AS A TOTEM OR A LANGUAGE, OR TRADITIONAL PRACTICES. Top-down is the way to go. We all know that if you want to improve your herd of cattle you don't run around looking to buy heifers of the the breed you need; you go...

 About a year ago, and following yet another gruesome murder/sucide of an innocent victim by a jealous "boyfriend", it was reported that the policeman in charge of the area, one Michael Maphephu ( I can't remember his rank) had stated that people who are not married should not stay together. Unfortunately, the enormity of what Commander Maphephu was saying was lost to most people including, I dare say, the government itself. No debates followed; perhaps because the idea that "boyfriends" could be prevented from living with "girlfriends" is something that our rulers simply cannot envisage as an enforceable law. But that idea is not new. It is embedded in the psyche of Kalangas. Its enforcement is not coded into law, such that a couple who breaks it could be put on trial; no. Rather, breaking that norm is severely shunned upon by Kalanga society, to the point where those who do so are treated as social outcasts. Since the culture of the so-called "B...