Social media on the matter of Dramaboi and his mother

DRAMABOI’S DEATH REVEALS GRAVE IGNORANCE

Dramaboi’s death is evidence that stigma and discrimination towards HIV will keep on killing us as a country. Everyone is talking about how his mother shouldn’t have disclosed his status, yet when someone dies and we hear it was TB it’s okay. We put shame on HIV, have we been brain washed to see HIV as something so dirty that we hate each other for having it? We would have laughed at him if we had known he is HIV+, we would have seen him as a lesser person and musician for having it and even thought he sleeps around. That is us as society and citizens of Botswana. Yet 1 in 5 people in the adult population of Botswana is HIV Positive. That means in every family there is someone living with HIV, yet we have many people dying of AIDS in Botswana. Why is that? Lack of communication, the reality is that we don’t talk yet we know that as a society we are so stigmatic and discriminative towards people who are HIV Positive. Accepting HIV is hard that is a fact, going to test is even harder yet we don’t talk as families to make it a topic that is easy to discuss. How does one feel when they hear that their loved one passed away due to the same health situation they have? It broke me when I lost a family member to AIDS. Now I talk to my family to get tested to give them space to be open. Stigma is a killer in this country not HIV or AIDS. [THATA SEDI KEWAMODIMO]

DIABETICS WOULD RATHER HAVE HIV

I am greatly disturbed. Folks still stigmatise HIV &AIDS so much so you get angry someone mentioned their family died from the disease?!!! Would you be saying this if she had said, “it was cancer” or “heart problem” or “sickle cell.” Nnyaa the banna we can’t go back to the 2000s. Did you know many people with Diabetes and BP would gladly exchange their status for that of someone with HIV? Why? With HIV you take your treatment, and lead a normal life. Not with diseases such as BP and diabetes! Yet we don’t stigmatise them. Do we need to start teaching people all over again? [GREG KELEBONYE]

WHO IS MORE TOXIC?

The relationship between relatives will always be bumpy, everywhere, everytime. The only difference is the time they take to resolve their differences and the platform they use to do so. Putting Dramaboi (MHSRIP) and her mother on the spotlight and the hiccups they had in the legend’s limelight days makes it appear as if the mother was a bad person. Truth be told, many parents make mistakes and so do their children. Painting Dramaboi with a white brush and her mother with a black one is hypocrisy and a witchcraft spirit of manipulation and deception.

Many diabolic mothers and absent fathers are skinning the poor woman and making it appear as if she committed abortion or skipped court for maintenance, forgetting she carried the boy, washed him from being a toddler until ba mo itse at his spotlight stage. Behind the scenes, the so labeled bad mother natured a star for the ungrateful fellows. Bangwe ba bone, they poisoned their own Dramaboi inside their own wombs. Some are really bad mothers joining the chorus. The mother has her mistakes, the son had his own and that affected their relationship. The mother raised a son, not a musician. The relationship can be affected by the demands of the changes needed as the children choose their ways and mothers also find it hard to accept that bana ba godile they can choose their way. Children also at times may push for their freedom too fast and too roughly, overriding the principles of honour and respect, at times out of frustration.

I still don’t believe no matter who children become, that they can become wiser than their parents. Parents remain parents and there is no fan love that can beat a mother’s love. The seed you are sowing on this family’s misfortune will be a bumper harvest on your own children. Yours will become and international embarrassment. How on earth can you be led to believe that a mother can have hatred for their own son no matter the disagreement, to an extent where you accuse them that it is the crocodile tears they are crying on their passing? I think we are being too insensitive and unnecessarily evil.

Repent of your utterances, I assure you it’s a bad seed you are sowing. Dismiss it at your own risk. [OLAOTSE KEBALEPILE]

WHAT CAUSES STIGMA ON PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV.

People speak openly about people having Covid and other diseases or even dying from them. What is so special about HIV? Well, all of you people who are making noise about why Dramaboi’s mother revealed that her son died of HIV are the very people who are fueling the stigma. Do you want people leaving with HIV to know that its taboo for people to know that they have the virus. How then do you think you can defeat the virus when you are keeping it a secret. People die because they are afraid to be seen at places where treatment for HIV is given because of this behaviour. Only in this country you’ll find people who still treat HIV as something that cannot be talked about openly.

The funny thing is that each and every household has been either infected or affected by this virus. People tend to enjoy gossiping about how others have it rather than openly advising on where one can get help. HIV is there and can be beaten if we all accept it like we did with Covid. Rest in Power Wa Makeishane [OUPA BONDELA NDLOVU] WE PROMOTE STIGMA AGAINST HIV

We still have a long way to go with stigma against HIV, if the mother said he died of Diabetes, we would all be OK with it. Our attitudes towards people living with HIV is the one making it difficult for people to enroll for treatment. #RIPDramaboi. NEO KEWAMODIMO BUGALO

WE DON’T KNOW HER SIDE OF THE STORY

Many labeled Damaboi’s mother a witch prompted by the posts from Dramaboi’s page where he claimed his mother had no time for him. Reality is she received all sorts of insults having not been given chance to share her side of the story. You see in life, some parents go through hell because of children who are not correctable. Have you ever thought maybe their relationship got soured by what may be termed as uncalled for behaviour from Dramaboi and she got fed up like any Motswana parent as some parents can go to the extent of saying “Ha o le poo o tlaa ntswela ka jarata.” Not neccesarily meaning always chasing out the child but meaning I will give you space to do as you please. I feel for Dramaboi’s mother tota because no one knows her side of the story but people bought Dramaboi’s story because he was a celebrity and easy to be believed. Family matters are deeper than what you see on the surface pertaining to who you idolise! Honestly speaking, batsadi ba bangwe baa leka ka bana ba bone, advising, offering material support in every way jaaka re itse to give their best but bana ba le supe le le ha, go bona bomolemo ja motsadi! Not every every child who claims to be abused is really abused. Some are abusers of their parents emotionally and use their age or social status to make parents look guilty! May God strengthen Dramaboi’s mother! I loved Dramaboi but my post is in no way hating him but I got touched by what her mother had to suffer powerlessly with no platform to share her side of the story! [VAN BAAK]