Volume 50 Issue 9 - September 2012 : Social

Judge Sanji Mmasenono MONAGENG (Born 1950).

Judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as of March 11, 2009, for a term of nine years. First Vice- President of the Court as of March 11, 2012 for a term of three years. Assigned to the Appeals Division. Elected from the African Group of States, list B. Judge Monageng served as a High Court judge in Swaziland, responsible for criminal and civil cases as well as constitutional matters before joining the ICC as a Commonwealth Expert. Prior to this, she served as a judge of the High Court of the Republic of the Gambia in the same capacity. She started her legal career as a Magistrate in Botswana. Judge Monageng has broad experience in the promotion and protection of human rights issues, having been a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, appointed by the African Union, between 2003 and 2009, and was appointed as the Commission’s chairperson in November 2007. She has also chaired one of the special mechanisms of the Commission, the Follow-up Committee on torture, inhumane, degrading and other treatment.

Judge Monageng was on June 27, 2011 presiding judge in the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC which issued three warrants of arrest respectively for Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi for crimes against humanity (murder and persecution) allegedly committed across Libya from February 15, 2011 until at least February 28, 2011, through state apparatus and security forces. Meanwhile, she also served as Deputy Chief Litigation Officer in the United Nations Observer Mission to South Africa in 1994. Judge Monageng served as the founding chief executive officer of the Law Society of Botswana for many years. She is a member of many international organisations including the International Association of Women Judges, the International Commission of Jurists and the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law. Judge Monageng has sat on numerous national, regional and international boards.

Unity Dow (Born April 23, 1959)

She is the first woman to be appointed a High Court judge in Botswana in January 1998. She is currently a member of a three-member panel of internationally renowned female lawyers and human rights experts set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate “the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory.” A human rights activist herself, Dow  has written novels  through which she says she is ‘reclaiming the voice’ to speak out on human rights and women’s issues. Before her appointment as a High Court judge, she was able to win important advances in laws pertaining to child support, rape and married women’s property rights. Her writings which strongly express women’s struggles for equality and justice in Botswana, are based on her own immediate experiences of working in these areas. She established a women’s centre in her home village (Mochudi)and co-founded the Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project. She is also a member of International Women’s Rights Watch, an advocacy organisation and became renowned for what is known as the Citizenship Case. She has been a criminal prosecutor, a law with international human rights organisations.

Among these are: The Urban Morgan Institute of Human Rights, International Association of Women Judges, International Women’s Rights Action Watch, Amnesty International, UNICEF and Africa Legal Aid. Her first novel, Far and Beyond, describes a family in a rural village in modern- day Botswana struggling to come to terms with the contradictions between traditional and western values, gender conflicts, poverty and the crisis of the Aids pandemic. While this is not an autobiographical narrative, many of the events coincide with Dow’s experiences of life in Botswana. The Screaming of the Innocent , is described thus by Elinor Sisulu: “Unity Dow courageously voyages into uncharted waters in this gripping tale of ritual murder in contemporary Botswana. Strong female protagonists wage battle against the hypocrisy and evil of male abuse as the story moves inexorably towards its horrifying climax.” Dow’s most recent novel, Juggling Truths, reads like a childhood memoir, blessed despite its contradictions and the juggling of truths between traditional African beliefs and Western thought. Veronica Sen of Canberra Times writes, “Frank, vibrant and ironic, Juggling Truths, given its setting in the 1990s, is disturbing to say the least”.

Mpule Keneilwe Kwelagobe (Born November 14, 1979)

Was crowned Miss Universe in May 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago. She was the first woman ever to represent Botswana in the Miss Universe pageant. Not only was Mpule the first from Africa to win the title but the first delegate that Botswana sent and won. Like Angela Visser, statuesque Mpule participated in the Miss World pageant (in 1997) but did not place. The Miss Universe 1999 pageant was marred by a rumour that Miss Guam, Tisha Heflin, was pregnant. Her subsequent withdrawal from the pageant and supposed pregnancy became the basis of the final question, which Mpule perfectly answered, causing many to believe that this was what won her the coveted title. Following her reign as Miss Universe, Mpule became a spokesmodel for Clairol. The two page ads first appeared in magazines in the US while Mpule was still Miss Universe. She was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in February 2000. The same year, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, focusing on youth and HIV/AIDS. Among others, Mpule has addressed the United States Congress (the United States House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Financial Services. Mpule testified on the socio-economic impact of AIDS in Africa and proposed a bill to set up a World Bank AIDS prevention trust fund). Shas also addressed:

• The 4th United Nations World Youth Summit (Dakar, Senegal),

 • The United Nations General Assembly (New York, USA),

• The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa),

 • The 3rd United Nations Least Developed Countries Conference (Brussels, Belgium),

•  Moderated an AIDS panel during the Congressional Black Caucus at the invitation of Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Mpule was honoured with the Jonathan Mann Health Human Rights Award by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC). She was honoured alongside the principal administrator of the European Commission HIV programme, Lieve Fransen, and former American president Bill Clinton. In 2003, she was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum, joining nearly 500 individuals from business, politics, public interest groups, the media, and the arts and the sciences, including Bill Gates, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Michael Dell and Bono, who were selected since the programme’s inception in 1993.

 In 2006, Mpule was again selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader (YGL). The YGL forum is a newly formed, unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world’s most extraordinary leaders who are 40 years old or younger and who are ready to dedicate their time and energy to jointly work towards a better future.  Mpule now holds a degree in political science (international political economy) from Columbia University, New York.

Kaone Kario (Born July 10, 1986)

Botswana’s modelling export Kaone Kario, who had been based in Cape Town since winning the 2005 M-net NOKIA Face of Africa, has now relocated to New York. While in Cape Town she hit the headlines as a super model, gracing magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Glamour. She also had the likes of Nivea, Mr Price, Edgars and Woolworths as regular clients. Kaone’s television stints include hosting Face of Africa scouting in 2008 and the actual show in 2009-2010. “I have never felt more alive than when I am in front of live television audience,” she said then. “The minute she walked into our offices, Kaone Kario’s X-factor was clear. She’s now making waves in New York,” writes Glamour magazine in their website. Kaone continues to feature in numerous magazines. Of late she graced the pages of Essence Magazine.

Joy  Johanna Phumaphi

Phumaphi is the Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and co-chair of the Commission on Information and Accountability (COIA). During her tenure, ALMA has grown to include 39 heads of state, pioneered innovative financing for malaria drugs and commodities and led the development and implementation of an accountability mechanism that regularly updates the heads of state on progress towards the malaria goals. She is a distinguished African American Institute Fellow and has been Commissioner in the UN Secretary-General’s Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa. She was Vice President & Head of the Human Development Network at the World Bank. She joined the Bank from the World Health Organisation where she served as the Assistant Director-General, Family and Community Health cluster and the Director-General’s Representative on Gender Equality at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland.

Phumaphi is a member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative for Microbicides, the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Advisory Panel for Global Health. She is also a board member of The Global Health Council, Save the Children International, the Africa American Institute and a trustee of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. She chairs ACHAP (African Comprehensive HIV/ AIDs Partnership), a partnership between Botswana government, Merck and Gates Foundation. Phumaphi has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Botswana and a Masters in Financial Accounting and Decision Sciences from Miami University, Ohio, USA.

Amantle Montsho (Born July 4, 1983)

Amantle is a sprinter who specialises in the 400m. She represented the country at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the final at the latter edition. She has also competed at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, narrowly beating Alleyson Felix to become Botswana’s first World or Olympic track and field champion winning in a personal best time of 49.56. She is currently the 400m world champion. A two-time African Championships gold medallist over 400m, she has also won titles in the event at the 2007 and 2011 All-Africa Games, 2010 IAAF Continental Cup and 2010 Commonwealth Games. Her Commonwealth win made her Botswana’s first ever gold medallist with a record time of 50.10. She also helped Botswana to the Commonwealth Games 4×400m relay final. Her personal best times are 11.60 in 100m, 22.94 in 200m and 49.56 in 400m. She trains at the High Performance Training Centre in Dakar, Senegal. She holds the 400m national record in both indoor and outdoor races. On the 2010 Diamond League circuit she won at the Bislett Games and was ranked second overall in 400m behind Felix. Amantle ran her fastest time of the year at the 2010 Continental Cup where, representing Africa, she beat Debbie Dunn to win the gold medal in 49.89. She recently won a gold medal at the African Championships in Porto- Novo, Benin where she also set both the championship and national records mark of 49:54. Last month she represented Botswana at the London 2012 Olympics where she finished fourth recording 49:75.

Emma Wareus (Born July 28, 1990)

Born in Gaborone, Emma is a beauty queen who placed first runner-up to Miss World 2010 on October 30, 2010 in Sanya, China. This is the highest placement for a woman from Botswana in the history of the pageant. And the highest placement of a Botswana beauty queen since Mpule Kwelagobe won Miss Universe back in 1999. She graduated from Rainbow High School in 2008.

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba

Masire-Mwamba is currently Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General. She advises and reports to the Secretary-General on Political Affairs, Human Rights, Youth Affairs, Legal and Constitutional Affairs. In her first two years at the Commonwealth Secretariat, she also had additional responsibility over the Finance and Administration and Human Resources. She is periodically called upon to represent the Secretary General and the Commonwealth on international panels. Previously she served as Botswana’s Investment Promotion Agency (BEDIA) chief executive officer. Under her leadership, BEDIA achieved consistent growth and facilitated strategic investment projects. In the same period, she established representative offices in Johannesburg and London. She started and launched the first ever Global Business Exhibition. Masire-Mwamba’s interest and experience in economic development was nurtured throughout her prior experience in telecommunications development both in Botswana and the UK. She has held the position of Group Manager of Corporate Business and Regulatory Affairs for the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation; and UK Business Development Manager for the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation. She holds a BSc degree from the University of London and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. She has recently been appointed an Honorary Bencher at the Middle Temple Inn. She is also a Patron of the UK Rwanda Genocide Memorial Project. Masire- Mwamba has served on several boards in the fields of tourism, business, civil aviation and banking, among others. She has had an active engagement in the areas of community life and social services.

Sheila Dinotshe Tlou

Tlou is Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for East and Southern Africa. She joined UNAIDS on October 1, 2010. Tlou, a committed advocate for effective AIDS responses in the region, boasts over 25 years experience in public health programming for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Prior to joining UNAIDS, Tlou held the post of Minister of Health (Botswana) from 2004 to 2009, where she spearheaded the country’s highly effective AIDS programme. Tlou was employed at the University of Botswana since 1980 and has held the post of Professor of Nursing since 1999.  At UB, she also held positions of Head of Department and Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Development in Primary Health Care from 1994 to 1998. Tlou holds a Doctorate of Nursing Science, majoring in Public Health Nursing and Research.  She has a Masters of Education, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction in the Health Sciences from Columbia University, as well as a Masters of Science, majoring in Public Health Nursing and Psychology, from The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.

Tswelelopele Cornelia Moremi

Moremi is Southern African Customs Union (SACU) executive secretary. She is the First Executive Secretary of SACU. Following the signing of the new SACU Agreement in 2002, Moremi was entrusted with theresponsibility of establishing the union’s Secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia in January 2004. She has participated in several trade negotiations including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Negotiations and Bilateral Trade Negotiations. She also led a Botswana team to the renegotiation of the SACU Agreement - which culminated in the signing of the 2002 SACU Agreement that came into force in July 2004. Moremi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Botswana and a Masters in Development Studies with a specialisation in Economics and Social Policy Studies from the Institute of Development Studies in The Hague, Holland. She has served in senior positions within the civil service, first as Ministry of Finance and Development Planning deputy permanent secretary and then as Ministry Trade and Industry permanent secretary. During her tenure as Ministry of Trade and Industry permanent secretary, Moremi, was responsible for the overall provision of policy guidance on trade and industry issues. She spearheaded the successful restructuring of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, including the establishment of new parastatals, namely the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) and the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS). She also spearheaded the development of a new Industrial Development Policy; Small, Medium to Micro business Enterprises (SMMEs) Policy; the development of a new Companies Act and a Consumer Protection Act. Moremi was instrumental in developing the National Privatisation Policy for Botswana. She served as a member of the Presidential Commission on National Education Policy. She also served on a number of boards especially as Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) deputy chairperson. ENDS

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