SPECIAL COURT FOR MOTSHELO MONEY
Upon realising that cases for stock theft, child maintenance and corruption had reached epidemic levels, the government set up special courts to deal with each one of those offences. For the past several years and in this particular month, there is a particular type of crime involving one particular group of people – treasurers of metshelo ( singular: motshelo) clubs. Members of these clubs informally pool their savings together, unlawfully run a lending operation and share total earnings in December. Years ago, when metshelo started, there was no widespread problem: the writer recalls one scene years ago at what used to be called O’Hagan’s Restaurant at Game City shopping mall in Gaborone. An all- female cast of motshelo members reserved the only nook the restaurant had, ordered colourful western food and had lots of Savanna- laden buckets arrayed around the table. After eating and amid the drinking, the treasurer took out a large Ke- lala- ha handbag and began moulding bricks of cash that she passed around the table.
There was laughing, more merrymaking, hugging and everybody left happy. However, after Water Utilities Corporation started using a new chemical to treat its water, metshelo have become a new genre of crime. Beginning next week – which is when the paid- out season should start – there will be reports of chickens having found their way into wardrobes and having pecked away at motshelo money; of the masimo hut that the money had been hidden in having burnt down to the ground courtesy of a drunk farm worker who has since disappeared; of treasurers having lost their identity cards and thus unable to withdraw motshelo money from the bank; and of treasurers showing up at motshelo meetings heavily- bandaged and telling the most elaborately- crafted tales of how they were robbed by gap- toothed, knife- wielding thieves.
Around March next year, all such treasurers will be driving around in Matshelonyana trucks and the houses whose construction had stopped at window level for years would be speedily roofed, plastered and painted.
These individuals will then start a new motshelo club with a completely new cast of future victims whose money will be used to wire the house for power and buy furniture. Either WUC goes back to using the chemical it used in the early 2000s to treat water or the Administration of Justice should set up a special court to deal with fraud involving motshelo money.