23 Apr 2020

The sleepy village of Letswelemoriti is a unique, quiet and serene locality in the Bobirwa region.

The ‘village of prayer' where alcohol and other substances as cigarette are strictly prohibited owing to villagers being members of St Engenas Zion Christian Church, which prohibits such has a population of only 243 people as per the 2011 census.

The villagers are described as peaceful and spend the better part of their lives in their homes, a tradition that one resident, Ms Onalenna Tsae described as akin to lifetime lockdown. This is because the village, unique as it is, has no amenities as banks and shops.

Once in a while a resident is seen walking to the clinic, one of the few government facilities in the village. In addition to the clinic, is a primary school, which was solar electrified last December.

The better part of the village has no electricity and this contributes to deficiency of information on COVID-19 since residents miss out on Botswana Television shows and news bulletins.

They also cannot tap on online publications since they cannot connect to the internet.

One Ms Phatsimo Letsholo and Ms Tsae told BOPA that residents at times tuned in on Radio Botswana as the only available radio station in their village.

They believed that with limited information, it was not easy for many to make informed decisions.

Ms Letsholo who was in the company of one Ms Tsae at a tuck shop revealed that they also depended on some South African radio stations for COVID-19 messages.

To buttress residents’ claims was Lentswelemoriti Primary School head, Ms Florah Sebudubudu who said that apart from Radio Botswana, which also was a challenge to connect to, the residents struggled with access to internet.

She explained that for them to make phone calls, one had to seek a spot where they would remain rooted until end of the call. Such spots are already known to the villagers, but one has to be an Orange subscriber.

With such a struggle to make a voice call, the chances of connecting to the internet were almost non-existent, Ms Sebudubudu said whilst sitting at one of the classes selected for permits applications.

However, Ms Sebudubudu who conducts permit issuance together with Mr Jebe Mogotsi, assistant minister at St Engenas Zion Christian Church, said that young people appeared to have grown tired of staying home in a lockdown. She observed that some would meet up at the tuck shop and hold endless meetings.

At some point, Ms Sebudubudu revealed that they had to call soldiers to disperse the young people back to their homes after they had gathered outside, citing boredom indoors.

The village does not have a kgotla, save for a meeting point. This therefore translates that the village has neither a kgosi nor a police officer in charge of the village. Mr Mogotsi attributed their pacific nature to the unavailability of police officers in the village though he conceded that there were some youths who on rare occasions, broke the traditions of sobriety in the village.

With that being said, Ms Sebudubudu believes that with the imminent government food relief rations, the residents are likely to stay home and reduce frequent request to go buy food. She anchored her claim on the fact that the village is dependent on Ipelegeng for employment and as such, the majority of residents qualified for rations.

Though Ms Sebudubudu said she was  frequented with requests for permits to go access amenities either in Motlhabaneng, a village 20km West of Lentswelemoriti, she observed that on some days they recorded no requests at all.

She however, was concerned by some cases where people sought permits to Motlhabaneng and then to travel to Bobonong, about 95KM West of the village.

Ms Sebudubudu and Mr Mogotsi also observed that some residents would claim to be ill and request permits to consult private doctors in Bononong but would fail to provide proof of sickness or bookings with doctors. Ends