05 Sep 2016

 Hundreds of people among them former Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Keletso Rakhudu and former Commissioner of Botswana Police Service (BPS), Mr Simon Hirshfelt were among mourners at the funeral of Mr Mendi Gordon Mmipi in Mmopane on Saturday.

Mr Mmipi is a former member of Police Mobile Unit (PMU) and was among the first batch of officers who joined the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) when it was established in 1977 and was mainly working in the north of the country.

Mr Mmipi, who was affectionately called Brain, died on August 28 at the age of 61. He reportedly died from asthmatic attack.  

Different speakers described Mr Mmipi as a humble and a caring man. They saluted him for his contribution in the development of Mmopane.

Brain was praised for his dedication towards taking care of his sickly mother.  

Among the speakers was his uncle, Mr Adolf Hirshfelt who described him as a brave man during his service with the BDF. He said though he did not stay for a long time with the army, he was very exceptional and committed to his job which he did with pride and knowledge at the time.

Different speakers described  Mmipi as a good, yet intricate character who did not want to be belittled or to be emotionally harmed because he too did not like hurting other people.

He could give a person all the time to tell him all the bad things and yet he would remain silent but reply after two weeks or a month, stating that he did not like the ‘bad utterances’.

“A very good orator, who liked debates, Brain would sometime recall and tell his good stories about his adventure with time the BDF, while they were fighting Rhodesian insurgents who time and again crossed the border to Botswana side.

One of Mmipi’s stories which were recounted with mixed emotions was that; one day he prayed silently straight to God when he was on top of a tree which was his fort when all of a sudden two Rhodesian insurgents came along and rested under the same tree.

“I prayed that I should not by mistake cough or rattle the leaves of the tree as that would be the end of my dear life because the guys were not going to spare me my life,” he said.

Some however, alleged that this incident forced him to leave the army, but he has never clarified this mist. He leaves behind two daughters, mother, seven siblings among them four women and three men. ENDS