OBITUARY - LT. GENERAL MOMPATI MERAFHE, 1936-2015 Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe was born in Serowe on the 6th of June 6 1936. He was the youngest of three children and the only son of Rre Sebogodi and Mme Nthanthele. His father supported the family as a pastoral farmer. Mompati was first enrolled in school in 1952. He completed Sub A to Standard 2 at Khama Memorial Primary School; Standard 3 and 4 at Newtown Primary School; and Standard 5 and 6 at Higher Primary School, which is now known as Simon Ratshosa School. He proved himself to be an outstanding pupil, who invariably topped his class. This was notably reflected in his mastering of both written and spoken English at an early age. Given his early scholastic aptitude, he would have undoubtedly gone much further in his education had he not found it necessary to drop out in Standard Six in 1958, when his father passed on. As the only son he then felt obliged to quit school so he could look after his mother as well as the family livestock. In 1960, he joined the Bechuanaland Protectorate Police Force. It was the beginning of a long and distinguished career, culminating through a series of rapid promotions to his appointment in September 1971 as Deputy Police Commissioner. He was the first citizen to occupy such a position. On his way to the top, he worked as a constable, prosecutor, and Police College Instructor. During his time in the Police Force he received additional certified academic and vocational training, which included a General Overseas Officer Police Duties Course at Wakefield in the UK in 1967; an Executive Development Course at the Botswana Training Centre in 1968; the Overseas Police Officers Command Course at Bramshill Police College, UK, in 1970; and a Security Administration Course, London, in 1972. In the Wakefield examinations, he came second in a class in which he was the only candidate who did not hold a degree. In April 1977, he was appointed as the first commander of the newly formed Botswana Defence Force (BDF) at rank of Major-General. He was elevated to Lieutenant-General in 1986. Under his command the BDF was built up from scratch to become a well disciplined and professional military force that is widely respected at home and abroad. General Merafhe retired from the army in 1989, though for a time he continued to serve as Chairman and Member of the Defence Council of Botswana. In the same year he was Specially Elected as a Member of Parliament and appointed as the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. He remained in the portfolio until 1994, when he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Also in 1994 he contested and decisively won the Mahalapye parliamentary seat (now Mahalapye West). He was subsequently re-elected three more times in the constituency, in 1999, 2004, and 2009. As Foreign Affairs Minister, General Merafhe emerged as an international statesman, who was held in high esteem by such prominent figures as Nelson Mandela and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. As his stature grew he was entrusted with an increasing number of international assignments, while being co-opted into key task groups. In this context, he served as a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Human Rights Network; the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) from 1995 to 2002, also serving a CMAG Chairperson from 1998 to 2002; and President in the Office of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States from September 2003 to February 2004. In 1995, he presided over the Security Council Resolution 976 during Botswana’s tenure as President of the Security Council, which paved the way for the deployment of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III). On April 1 2008, he was appointed Vice President of the Republic of Botswana and simultaneously became Leader of the House. As one of the Vice Presidents of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly, he had the opportunity to chair a Session of the 20-22 September 2010 High Level Plenary of the General Assembly on the Review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS). On August 31 2012, General Merafhe voluntarily stepped down from the Vice Presidency on health grounds. Outside politics, General Merafhe held the following positions: President of the Botswana Amateur Athletics Botswana Netball Cancer Association of Botswana Tourismtion, 1978-1980; Chairman of the Botswana National Sports Council 1980-1989 Chairman of the Botswana National Olympic Committedee, 1980-1989; Executive Committee Member of the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa representing Southern Africa, 1984-1989; President of the Association of National Olympic Committee of Southern Africa, 1987-1989; Executive Member of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa 1980-1989. He was also patron of BDF Tennis Club; BDF XI Football Club; Botswana Family Welfare Association; Botswana Amateur Athletics Association; Miscellaneous Sporting Club, Serowe; Gaborone Choral Choir; Honorary Member of Supreme Council for Sports in Africa; Tshole Trust; Bamalete Lutheran Hospital Hospice; and Mahalapye District Hospital. During his career General Merafhe was the recipient of many domestic and international honours, including Botswana highest honour, Naledi Ya Botswana in November 2011, as well as: Presidential Order of Honour Botswana Police Medal for Meritorious Service Distinguished Service Medal Founder Officer Medal Legion of Merit (USA) Legion of Honour (France) Chairperson’s Award – Botswana National Sports Council Friendship Medal of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba Honorary Professorship by Shanghai Normal University, China, (July 2010) World Citizen Award for Excellence (The Bahamas), October 2010 The General was married to Bontlogele in October 1963. He is survived by his widow and 5 children, 2 boys and 3 girls. They are Reobonye (F); Odirile (M); Gosego (F); Oagile (M); and Ketlhalefile (F). They have 10 grandchildren, 3 boys and 7 girls.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 12:01:03 +0000
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