Sebina junction: a contrasting place of hope and despair

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Monday April 11, 2011 00:00

 

But for an ordinary traveller, the junction is a convenient hiking spot linking Sebina village, which lies about 9km north of the popular intersection, with a motley of other places.

The intersection is also a gateway to the tourism destinations of Maun, Kasane and the popular Okavango Delta to the West. To the East, the junction links the traveller to the cities of Francistown, Gaborone and other towns and major villages. To the north are Sebina, Nshakazhogwe, Tutume, Masunga, Marobela and many other places of interest. The Sebina junction helps connect villages around it too.

To some it symbolises greater unity as the villages have always had something to bring them together and closer to each other. In the past, the areas of Bokalaka around Sebina had a forum that brought them together to share common socio-political challenges. Through MANSHAMAKOSE (Marobela, Nskakazhogwe, Marapong, Kombani (Nswazwi) and Sebina), the villages shared experiences and met to solve challenges within their boundaries. In fact, villagers around the five villages were related and could not allow the political boundaries to separate them for good, hence they created a forum that continuously brought them together.

Whilst the effects of Manshamakose seem to have died a natural death, the Sebina junction stands out as a man-made feature that connects and brings the five villages together. The intersection is a place of hope to many and a place of horror to others. This contrasting reality cannot be avoided, as it is in fact, part of humanity itself.

The junction was set up for a purpose that we all know, but there are those who have chosen to turn the area into a haven for criminal activities.

Billboards in the area tell the story of the importance of the Sebina junction. For many years, the Sebina junction has attracted attention as seasonally, people selling various farm produce from the lands around the area openly display their wares targeting the travelling customer. Berries, maize cobs, melons, sweets, airtime vouchers and many others are often some of the wares on display at the junction. Crossroads Restaurant and a bar is a popular eatery in the area.

The restaurant sells, amongst others, a traditional plate of Koko ya Setswana and seswaa. At the bar, the place is known to attract the likes of folklore music artist Ndingo Johwa and other South African and local artists. There is also a filling station, which makes it convenient for motorists to get what they want in one area. Generally, during the day, the Sebina junction is a hive of activity. Villagers from the Manshamakose villages do their major shopping in Francistown, about 60 km away, and stop over at the junction on their return home.

This has now made the junction a target for thugs who rob people and disappear into the bush. Worse still, legend has it that the Sebina junction is a place where many lives have been lost. There are stories that a lot of people have gone missing whilst hitchhiking at the place.

Of course, in the past, horrific accidents have claimed many lives. There are two main accidents that immediately come to mind, however. One involved a truck transporting Lotsane Senior Secondary School students to a sports competition in Tutume in the early 1980s. Just a few years ago, a number of motor vehicles collided at the Sebina junction, killing many people, including police officers from the Ngamiland area.

Stories of yore reflect that the Sebina junction is not a friendly place at all, especially at night as killers lie in wait in the thickets and pounce on their targets.

Thato William, 21, tells The Monitor that it is dangerous to hitchhike from the junction at night.  'I may not produce anyone whom I know to have fallen victim of the killers in the area. But, I grew up knowing that the junction is not a safe place at all. People still kill others and dump their bodies in the bush,' she says.