29 Jun 2017

When a man has lived out their purpose, done it well and finished it to perfection there is no reason to keep him any longer.

This is a painful truth. So Painful but it is true.

This was said by a friend of Sir Ketumile Masire family, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe when he paid tribute to the late Sir Ketumile Masire at a memorial service held at the University of Botswana on June 28.

Pouring out his heartfelt condolences Mr Gaolathe said Sir Ketumile affectionately called Ra-Gaone had accomplished his cause in life exceptionally well thus the family had every reason to celebrate his life.

“I wish I had something better to say than to say to you, that the pain does not go away, in fact sometimes the pain will grow but God will lend you an overwhelming strength and a joy much greater than any pain,” he said.

Having grown closely under his guidance Mr Gaolathe described Ra-Gaone as an oasis of wisdom, a harbinger of peace, a torch of foresight as he carried himself with humility and served the people generously.

Mr Gaolathe said Sir Ketumile lived for the nation, each pulse of his being, each heartbeat, was for his people.

“We will never know if he was designed that way or built himself to become that person,” he said.

Further he asserted that Ra-Gaone was a phenomenal statesman “with a knack for great exploits on the economy, justice, freedoms and pursuit of the happiness and the public good.”

Former president Dr Festus Mogae who served under Ra-Gaone as Vice President for 14 years also described Ra-Gaone as a humble and considerate man who owned up to responsibility.

“He was always democratic to a fault,” he quipped.

Dr Mogae described Ra-Gaone as a handworker who was detail oriented, “he was an avid reader who would call me at 3am in the morning for a meeting.”

Speaking on behalf of the Botswana Democratic Party, former vice president Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe said Ra-Gaone was founding member of the party and the manifesto of the party was different from other parties.

It was a short manifesto, he said, but it was targeted at holistic upliftment of lives of Batswana rather than apartheid regime struggle emancipation which other political parties focused on.

He said theirs was focused on liberation from poverty through self-reliance, infrastructural development and ‘Botho’ as core founding principles.

For his part diamond mining company DeBeers chairperson, Mr Nicky Oppenheimer noted that Sir Ketumile was very instrumental in coining the partnership between DeBeers and Botswana.

He said the partnership was well known all over the world as one of the best.

“To the Masire family my thoughts are with you,” he said.

The memorial service was also attended by foreign dignitaries including  former heads of states, and international organisations where Sir Ketumile served. ENDS