ASABO Remembers June 14
Ame Motimane | Monday June 17, 2019 15:10
This was a way of celebrating and remembering those who lost their lives during the raid that was conducted by the apartheid South African military.
ASABO, established in 1997, aims at bringing South Africans and Batswana together and also keep this part of shared history alive.
The raid on Gaborone (called operation Plecksy) by the apartheid South African Defence Force (SADF) occurred under the order of General Constand Viljoen.
South African soldiers crossed the border into Botswana at around 1:30am, to lead the attack on what was believed to be the cadres and offices of Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC and their private homes based in Gaborone.
One of the survivors of the raid, Brain Lebohang Sekwele, said coming back to the resting place of his fellow comrades brings peace to him given that they died for peace, protection and freedom of their fellow comrades.
“It’s a sad day for all of us, but a proud one too,” said Sekwele. Lt. Colonel Fana Maswabi from the Botswana Defence Force and a representative of the High Commission of South Africa to Botswana Sholeen Mooljee, who is a counsellor, graced the event.
Mooljee laid a wreath on the resting place of the fallen ‘soldiers’.
The ceremony also recognised Botswana’s very own 15 soldiers who lost their lives during an ambush in Lesoma in 1977. Rhodesian forces killed the soldiers.
Secretary of ASABO, Rhoda Sekgororoane on her part said it is important for “us to look back and celebrate our fallen heroes and heroines and also to keep the history alive”.
She said it was important to look back at such times and celebrate them, so as the upcoming generation can also learn from the past.