Iconic Media personality Douglas Moeketsi was a nation builder
Batswana celebrated his life last Saturday
Botswana’s king of the airwaves - the first Radio Botswana personality and newsreader of local news- the compassionate and caring, Douglas Ditshwene Moeketsi is sleeping for good.
The wording on the front page of Uncle Doug as he was affectionately known says it all. The family preferred to call his final send- off a “celebration” of the iconic father who touched and influenced many lives before his demise just a few days after celebrating his 80th birthday.
He was married to yet another kind and loving person, Matshidiso Jean Moeketsi ( Nee Mampe) a professional who contributed to the growth of the economy as a teacher at Thornhill Primary School before opening her own kindergarten namedGoose Gender - an institution that has produced hundreds of students who are now running the economy of this country.
Six decades ago, the iconic Moeketsi worked at Kutlwano magazine being specifically responsible for all the Setswana news items before he was transferred to Lobatse to start the new radio station in the then Bechuanaland where he was the first announcer of local news.
His passion, accent and charisma as a newsreader not only drew the attention, but attracted many young fellows to envy him and look forward to joining the radio which was then counted among the rare skills.
His obituary indicates that he had a short stint working at the Legislative Assembly where he was recording the proceedings in 1964 before being sent for further training as a journalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) in London, under the British Commonwealth Scholarship.
He came back to Botswana in 1965 to join Radio ZND which later became Radio Botswana where he was in charge of radio broadcasting as well as the head of team of artistic talents.
In celebrating his life, the family and friends ran short of adjectives to describe him. He was kind, compassionate, loving, gentle, empathetic, fiercely protective, and full of life, great advisor, joyful, open, loved spending time with family and friends, hardworking, ethical, direct, honest, strict and respectful.
Speaker after speaker described Uncle Doug as a unifying factor and a peace loving person but too quick to take head- on or give a tongue lashing to those who misbehaved and, or often deliberately went out of the way.
Uncle Doug touched many people during his well lived life. As written in his obituary he is a truly unforgettable man who will always be remembered with great fondness. No one in his area of residence will forget that despite his heavy body frame he was counted among the most active, much more active than even the youth of the area.
He was not a politician, but a staunch member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP). He used to campaign using his resources for every candidate that contested for the general election under the BDP in his ward and to a larger extent the constituency of Gaborone Central.
Besides knowing him as a radio personality of yesteryear, I got much closer to him after two of my children enrolled at Goose Gander Kindergarten owned by his wife situated in their residence.
It did not take long to realise that although he was not a teacher, himself, he was the kingpin of the school.
All the children loved him; some used to even skip lessons just to visit him in the main house only for him to spend time taking them back to class instead of resting.
His living room was more like an office of the school principal; he would always be calling parents offering them a seat and a cold glass of water. He gave me a nickname, “Your Excellency” and this is how he greeted me all the time we met irrespective of the place.
The reason he called me that was because my daughter’s name is Gaone, and he would tease me that I am the late President Sir Ketumile Masire. Then later came the youngest son Baone, whom he nicknamed “the B and the Bones”.
The energetic Uncle Doug had a natural stamina in terms of talking, and he was well conversant with many issues. One would be warned to engage him at his own peril. But, who would blame him.
He has worked in several high ranking offices, among them as the press attaché to the first President, Sir Seretse Khama with whom they travelled extensively around the world.
He was a kind of a person who would make you stay longer at his residence, when in actual fact you are in a hurry and had just come to pick your child and go. He always extended a loving hand even at my prime time as a professional scribe.
He never got tired of coaching me on how stories should look or read like and, or on the usage of words especially on radio and television. He was laid to rest on Saturday at Phomolong cemetery.
May His Soul Rest in everlasting Peace.