10 Dec 2020

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday visited the Makwapa family  of  Palapye to convey his condolences following the passing of Ms Mathudi Makwapa.

Ms Makwapa, born July 12, 1945, died at her home in Palapye on December 4 after a short illness. 

President Masisi, who said he was making the commiseration on behalf of his family, the state and Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), described Ms Makwapa as a strong woman who was quite active in the party.

He said she and her husband played a role in the ruling party’s progression in Palapye from back in the day up to her untimely death.

Describing Ms Makwapa as a compassionate, loving, caring and hard working mother, Dr Masisi said she and her husband, Mr Nonofho Makwapa raised their children well. 

On his family’s friendship with the Makwapa family, the President said it dated back to the days when the latter lived in Lobatse around the 1970s. 

He requested the family to bear with government’s COVID-19 regulations which sought to avert the spread of the virus .

Attendance of funerals, weddings, church services and other events including movement of people were still restricted, he said. 

He explained that the restrictions were not meant to erode peoples’ rights but to preserve the population from the deadly disease. 

President Masisi said countries around the world including developed nations were experiencing socio-economic setbacks due to COVID-19 with many lives lost.

It was therefore necessary to take extra precautions in protecting the elderly whom, if exposed, might not to be able withstand the deadly disease. 

For his part, Mr Matshidiso Makwapa said his mother was hard working and believed that one needed to work hard to achieve what they desired in life. 

“If two people who started with nothing continue to love and trust each other, join hands and work together and apply their mind, there is nothing they cannot achieve,” he said adding that there was no limit to what one could achieve as demonstrated by his parents.

“She leaves behind a legacy of love and trust. My mother was like a best friend to my father, companion and a mentor,” he said.

In an interview, another son, Mr Buca Makwapa said his mother was not only an avid BDP member but also a business woman and farmer.

She made donations to several schools in Palapye, assisted needy families and took care of disadvantaged children as though they were her own, he said adding all was done without publicity. Ends