11 Oct 2022

Plans are afoot to celebrate national icon Dr Gaositwe Chiepe who turns 100 next week Thursday.

  Speaking after paying the soon to be centenarian a visit at her Gaborone residence yesterday, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said government and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had plans to mark the milestone.

  “My schedule does not allow me to be present on October 20 when Dr Chiepe celebrates her 100th birthday but government will ensure that she is celebrated at a later date, and the BDP will also later visit her home to rejoice with and pay homage to one of our pioneers,” he said.

 Stressing the importance of recognising national pioneers for their work in paving the way for the realisation of modern-day Botswana, President Masisi said  they also possessed the institutional memory that could further guide the current dispensation.

“As a nation we should never forget where we come from, history is made by people. Dr Chiepe was the first Motswana woman to attain a university bachelor’s degree and post-graduate masters’ qualification; the first Motswana woman MP and cabinet minister, the first lady minister of various portfolios. We celebrate her efforts for the nation,” said Dr Masisi.

He said during the visit, Dr Chiepe was given an insight into government and BDP plans for the centenary.

 The President and his entourage comprising Vice President Slumber Tsogwane, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Lemogang Kwape as well as Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi also conveyed good wishes ahead of the birthday.

For her part, Dr Chiepe said it meant a lot to her that the President and some cabinet members had taken the time to visit.

“This means that the President still remembers me and appreciates my legacy to the country. They decided to come and spend time with me and I am pleased.  My advice to those in government now is to continue working hard for the nation, the attitude should always be to consider what is best for the country,” Dr Chiepe said.

Born on October 20, 1922, Dr Chiepe did her primary schooling in Serowe before proceeding to  Tiger Kloof Educational Institute and Fort Hare University in South Africa.

 She holds a  master’s degree from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and several honorary doctorate degrees from Bristol, Fort Hare and the United States’ Depaul University.

Dr Chiepe public service career includes serving as Botswana’s ambassador to the then West Germany and high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

In 1974 she became Botswana’s first woman cabinet minister and has served in a number of ministerial portfolios including foreign affairs, education and commerce and industry before retiring from active politics in 1999.

Dr Chiepe has spent the past 23 years as an eminent national figure and now looks forward to becoming a centenarian next week. Ends