02 Apr 2017

 Mr Kelefitlhetse Bosekeng, who was crowned Mr SSG in 2015, is happy that his mission to preach the importance of a tolerant and non-violet society, especially on Gender Based Violence (GBV), is coming to fulfilment as his two-year term comes to an end in August.

The Gaborone based police officer said although his reign was stretched by one year and was sometimes curtailed by preparations for the country’s 50th anniversary, he was on track given that he was able to address different organisations on GBV.

Mr Bosekeng, otherwise known as Stone, said after he was crowned Mr SSG, he embarked on the project which took him to various parts of the country addressing different entities in both the public and private sector.

He said he was usually invited by various organisations to give lectures on GBV.

He said he also presented himself to different institutions to address employees on GBV, which he said had the potential to derail society if left unchecked.

He said through his public address on the topical issue, which government was also championing, he came to learn that many people did not realise that what they had been doing in the past amounted to gender-based violence.

He said contrary to the firmly-held belief that only a handful of men were abused, it had become clear during interactions with his audience that an equally high number of males were abused, especially by their female partners.

Armed with such information, he said he was now intensifying his GBV campaign, giving more emphasis on male gender based violence.

Mr SSG was however happy that he had been working closely with organisations such as Men Sector and Kagisanong Women’s Shelter, which inducted him on the topic before embarking on the national assignment.  

He also got support from the educational and health safety committee at work, noting that his police duties did not clash with his assignment as they were clearly marked and defined in the SSG calendar.

Although his audience was largely made up of the working youth and older persons, he said he would be addressing Mmadinare Senior Secondary School students during a boot camp scheduled for April 7.

This year, Mr SSG, who holds the rank of constable, managed to address five sectors and was optimistic that by the time he handed over the baton, he would have achieved much of his assignment, particularly that more invitations were pouring in. ENDS