A requiem for TW

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Friday August 30, 2013 00:00

The sad news of his death was broken to the nation on Wednesday morning. A family spokesperson, Brigadier (retired) Thulaganyo Masisi  said his brother, who had suffered a stroke died, at the Bokamoso Private Hospital on Wednesday morning. Masisi had earlier been flown to the Muelbaard Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa for an operation before he was flown back to Bokamoso Private Hospital, outside Gaborone, where he succumbed to the stroke.I first met Masisi in 1994 in Francistown whilst he was a businessman running a pharmacy, before he closed shop for reasons unknown to me. A former primary school teacher, he was once nominated councillor to the Francistown City Council (FCC).Whilst his pharmacy sold modern medicine, it also sold traditional herbs. It was a popular haunt for monepenepe connoisseurs who would from time to time pop in for a sip.

The herb reportedly cured those plagued by venereal diseases like gonorrhea (rasephiphi) which plagued the sexually active in those days, but it seems to have faded into obscurity thanks to the advent of HIV/AIDS which has now taken centre stage. Against all odds, Masisi, at 62 years was an indefatigable fighter. A go-getter and independent thinker who never shied away from pursuing any matter close to his heart. He defied members of the Barata-Phathi faction of the BDP who left the BDP to form the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD). As a member of the Barata-Phathi faction, it was strongly believed that he would follow his factional colleagues, but he never did.To me, he was a politician at heart. His death has robbed some of us of political action in the ongoing ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) vetting process ahead of the November Bulela Ditswe primaries.

Masisi had vowed to retain the Francistown West constituency, come rain or shine.God has indeed taken Masisi at the wrong time in his career, which was by all accounts blossoming. He was destined to prove his prowess as a politician once again by going into his fourth term as an MP, which is not easy to a lot of his peers, especially in urban areas like Francistown.Although he may have hinted at early retirement  as a result of his failing health, he had wanted to give it a try.Sisi or TW, as Masisi was affectionately known to hordes of his supporters, had his way of doing things and it seemed to work very well for him. He had coined two TW-style political jargons- or isms that gained popularity among his supporters and foes.  A corrupted concoction of Setswana and English words he would remonstrate against 'Ferefereism' and 'Tshekwaneism' as he held court.The latter is derived from a Setswana word Boferefere, which literally translated means deceitfulness. The latter 'term' is derived from a Setswana word Tshekwane whose literal translation would be a jester with a predeliction for  mischief naughtiness or impishness.In his own words, it was this Ferefereism and Tshekwaneism that sustained his political career.

In 1999, he predicted the downfall of the former Francistown West MP, Vain Mamela, and true to his word, he felled the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) maverick politician with an ascebic tongue for his political opponents. In 2003, at party primaries level, Masisi employed his Ferefereism and Tshekwaneism and easily disposed of his main challenger and party colleague, Peter Ngoma.Since Masisi was still fresh from a kidney operation in South Africa, some of his Bulela Ditswe challengers celebrated that he was not going to make it due to illness. But lo and behold, Masisi made it after a long period of absence and beat Ngoma with a yawning margin.In 2008, he outclassed a combination of Ngoma and former Francistown district commissioner, Sylvia Muzila with ease again. He never seemed to have any problems with the opposition parties either.

After the 2009 general elections, sensing endless defeat, Muzila and Ngoma announced their retreat - hasty or otherwise - from Francistown West. Ngoma has since relocated to Tati East, whilst Muzila is reportedly trying her luck in the Francistown South constituency.Sam Masunga, a BDP operative in Francistown said that Masisi coined his jargons in 2003 when he was faced with a stiff challenge from Ngoma.Always seemingly carrying his jocular nature on the sleeve of his shirt, he once boasted that he had a degree in Ferefereism and a diploma in Tshekwaneism.'He was in fact warning whoever wanted to challenge him that even if Ngoma's team could traffic people from outside Francistown West, he would still beat them in the game because he was more qualified in the act of trafficking voters from other areas than his competition,' explained Masunga.Masunga said Masisi taught them that if they wanted to win the elections, they must start campaigning from their homesteads first, their main streets and then the rest shall follow.'He taught us the simple game of amassing numbers and this is the good legacy that he has left with some of us,' said Masunga who is a former councillor.

Otto Masogo, a BDP activist and a council aspirant in the Francistown West constituency, is a self-confessed graduate of Masisi's Ferefereism and Tshekwaneism.  Although he previously broke up with his mentor (Masisi) in favour of Muzila, this time around they (Masisi and Masogo) had reconciled and the latter was firmly in Masisi's corner for 2014.Masogo recently boasted that he was going to win the BDP council primaries for 2014, 'because I know the tricks of winning both the primaries and general elections.Councillor for Monarch South, Ignatius Moswaane said Masisi was a brother and a father figure to them in the constituency.'Whilst he joked openly, Masisi spoke his mind and was very approachable to all and sundry,' said Moswaane.  To him, the deceased politician was a good leader who encouraged all those he worked with to apply their very best. He found Masisi to be very straight and 'I have learnt a lot from him.'He remembered some of Masisi's political tricks: 'First I confuse and then I convince you and apply ferefereism.'Moswaane described Masisi as a highly religious man who put God first in everything he did as he prayed during their political meetings and believed that God had all the solutions.

In particular, he revered Masisi for his love of disadvantaged members of the society. He thanked Masisi for providing him with love and protection during his hour of need, he said without elaborating.In 2002, whilst I was covering politics, I came across a report that in the preparations for Block-One by-election, Masisi and his BDP team were accused of cheating. My news reports on the developments rubbed Masisi the wrong way. During the by-election at the ZCC polling station, in front of fellow scribes, he came charging like a wounded buffalo, trying to teach me what he called a lesson.He threatened to destroy me if I continued on negative developments in the constituency and the party. The MP was incensed by reports levelled by the opposition BCP that the BDP was out to cheat in the polls.The BDP was accused of unfair play as it was alleged to be using non-residents of the ward to help them win the by-election. This followed incidents in which a youth from Maipaafela ward and an elderly man from Matshelagabedi blamed the BDP for being registered irregularly in Block-One as voters. They claimed that their registrations were not voluntary. One of the voters had already been struck off the voters roll by a Francistown magistrate court. All fingers were pointed at Masisi. Was this part of his Ferefereism and Tshekwaneism?.

Above all, frothing at the mouth, he threatened to bewitch me if I continued reporting on the developments surrounding the voter trafficking. This left retired government journalist Tarcisius Mudongo and other scribes laughing their lungs out at Masisi's threats of sorcery.This never soured our relations as we continued after the by-election that the BDP lost to the BCP.He would later develop a tendency of volunteering general political information but would always caution reporters: 'Please don't quote me.'In 2000, Masisi received a kidney from his wife, Ntletleng. They would later form the Masisi Organ Foundation Trust whose main aim was to raise awareness about kidney diseases and fundraise for fellow kidney sufferers.His health suffered another blow when he was involved in a car accident last May, leaving him wheelchair bound.TW is the son of the late Edison Masisi, who was formerly an MP for Moshupa, cabinet minister and speaker of the national assembly. His younger brother, Mokgweetsi is the current Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration and has inherited their father's former constituency.His ageing mother and six siblings, three men and three women survive him, so do his children.Brigadier Masisi said his brother's body will be taken to its final resting place in Moshupa, probably next week Saturday to enable some of his sisters who are currently living outside the country to come and pay their last respects.

May your soul rest in peace, Mokgatla.