27 Feb 2017

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama was among hundreds of people who attended Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Fallen Heroes Commemoration ceremony which took place at Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone on February 27.

President Khama, who was accompanied by the Vice President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi and the entire cabinet among others, later laid a wreath in memory of the departed soldiers.

Speaking during  the ceremony which also simultaneously took place at Francistown, Thebephatshwa Air Base, and Selebi-Phikwe as well as Lesoma for the first time, the army commander Lt Gen. Placid Segokgo said their gathering  was not to mourn their heroes and heroines but rather to celebrate their sacrifice for the nation.

He noted that unlike other commemorations that they held in the past, this year's remembrance was distinct in that it came as a precursor to their 40th anniversary due in two months.

Fallen Heroes Commemoration was first held in 2011 at the graves of those who died at Lesoma at the Gaborone Cemetery before moving to the Three Dikgosi Monument and other locations.

“The promise we embrace is that the blood of our soldiers which soaked mother earth was not spilled in vain and will never be, save for the pursuit of our national interests. It is for this reason that we pledge our lives and pay reverence to those that have seen their pledge through,” he said.

Meanwhile Gen. Segokgo paid tribute to the Three Dikgosi, noting that they paid allegiance to Botswana first before their tribal ethnicity and  by so doing unified the nation.

“I am however equally convinced that their vision would be further completed if we, their descendants would spend one moment each year to honour our nation's heroes and heroines,” he said.

In this regard Lt Gen. Segokgo said it was important to ensure that the next generations was allowed the opportunity to know their past and the stories of individuals who helped made the nation.

The BDF commander noted that the day was not a preserve just for the military but should be a national commemoration in which none was better than the other 'for we recognise the sanctity for all lives lost and sacrifices made, either in military services, public service or other walks of life that qualify to be recognised for the heroism with which such was given'. ENDS