UB remembers ‘Motho le Motho Kgomo’ champion, Butale

First the University’s Chancellor H.E Tebelelo Mazile Seretse acknowledges all who sacrificed and volunteered their time beyond the call of duty to serve the nation in the highest display of patriotism and self-reliance at the establishment of UB in 1982.

She states; “We owe our being to the heroes and heroines who gave their time, talents, treasures and indeed their lives to ensure that the University comes into being.

There was a nationwide campaign and appeal launched in 1976 by Botswana’s founding President, Sir Seretse Khama called Botswana University Campus Appeal (BUCA).”The campaign was commonly known as Motho le Motho Kgomo (one man one beast) and had a 12-month deadline to raise R1 million for the construction of the University in Botswana. The amount was raised in record time of six months.

The Chancellor further reveals that since the launch of the 40th anniversary celebrations in June 2022, the University of Botswana have honoured the then coordinator of BUCA Dr Potlako Molefhe and four Swaneng Hill School students and their driver who lost their lives while on their way to a funding raising activity in Serowe.

When BUCA Coordinating Committee was established, it was made up of Dr Molefhe, Peter Olsen, Boniface Masete, Lorraine Tapela and Chapson Jabavu Butale.

“Mr Butale was a teacher by profession, and he demonstrated his unquenched thirst for education by completing his secondary education through distance learning therefore it is befitting today to pay tribute to this great educationalist in a Centre for Continuing Education,” Seretse further says.

Since he started his teaching career at Moroka Primary School in 1966, the late Butale is said to have valued education. His passion for education reportedly raised him through the ranks up to Headteacher at Mambo and Jackalas 1 Primary schools.

After decade of educating the future Butale was appointed Education Secretary in the North-East District in 1976, when he also joined the BUCA Coordinating Committee.

A couple of years later ambitious Butale was at Local Government as Assistant Council Secretary in Lobatse then Council Secretary in Tsabong in 1978 and 1980. Soon he joined the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), and was Specially Elected to Parliament in 1984 but in 1989 he contested and won the North East constituency and remained an MP until 2004 when he lost the BDP primary elections. His profile includes being Minister for Ministries of Local Government and Lands; Works, Transport and Communications; as well as Health.

Seretse also remembers Butale’s contribution on the international stage. At the 12th special session on the United Nations General Assembly on 10th June 1998 Butale said Drug Trafficking “recognises no national boundaries - No one country is big enough to tackle it alone. It is not amenable to the solutions which have been employed so far”.

Butale was also passionate about the reduction of demand for illicit drugs. “We know that today, this problem highlighted by Hon Butale 24 years ago stillpersists in honouring his memory let us re-double our efforts to fight this menace and eradicate it from our education system and from our country,” the Chancellor urges the guests.

Butale is further remembered for wrestling with monstererous HIV/AIDS which threatened to wipe off the nation when he was Minister of Health.

On the 2nd of July 1999 at the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the review of the Implementation of the Program of Action of the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD+5) he reportedly said, “Botswana is one of the countries most affected by the HIV/ AIDS pandemic and young women and men are the most affected. These are the most able and economically productive citizens, in whom the future of our nation is invested. As a result of this, an increasing number of our children will be orphaned over time”.

At the same session Butale further said; “Botswana takes pride in its achievements in the field of education. Notably we have universal access to free education from primary to secondary schools. Our challenge now is to further increase enrolment, improve quality and to re-orient the system to respond to the job market”.

Fastforward 20 years and the problems and challenges still persist. “Are we stagnant, with assistance of technology and research can we not do better- with a population of less than three million (a city population) could we not do better,” the Chancellor quizzed.

Seretse also recalls the Statesman, as a family man who encouraged his children to excel at their chosen tasks.

“May the enduring legacy and spirit of Chapson Jabavu Butale continue to lift us up and encourage us to be better versions of ourselves and we sincerely thank the family for sharing him with the nation,” she says.