Kutlwano Magazine

The ÔÇÿGeneralÔÇÖ tells it like a man

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Pako Lebanna

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

Without doubt Odirile Sento aka Vee has struck the national conscience with not just his music but his stage performance pedigree as well.

The pint-sized muso has over the years been one of the most entertaining performers, thereby gaining national and regional stardom.

Thus, he has been nothing short of a phenomenon. Songs such as “Taku,” “Letlhale le a Tsamaya” and others have over time been the soundtrack of a particular generation of Batswana youth.

With his music pedigree coupled with personal experience, Vee qualifies as the most perfect soldier to lead the Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) campaign as the country intensifies its war against the HIV/AIDS scourge.

“There are many advantages, it (circumcision) reduces the chances of contracting HIV by 60 per cent, it reduces the chances of contracting other sexually transmitted diseases (STIs/STDs), cervical cancer and penile cancer. These are fatal illnesses and any measures to reduce the risks of contraction should be taken seriously,” he pleads.

He reckons that the long-term benefits of circumcision far outweigh the six-week period without sex after surgery.

Vee reveals that when he started the campaign, he already had information on the importance of circumcision, and had developed passion for the subject, having undergone circumcision on his own personal volition.

“When I personally got to be circumcised, no one forced me. There is not a single person who coerced me, I did it because I realised the benefits. When I was doing Form Five, I asked my mother for permission and went ahead to get circumcised,” reveals Vee.

Enunciating on the positives of the process as if reading from a textbook manual, Vee adds: “Yes, circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV by 60 per cent but for you to be protected for the other 40 per cent you should use a condom. Circumcision does not altogether prevent HIV, so people should not be reckless and have casual, unprotected sex,” the iconic, pint-sized Vee relates.

“Again, during that period, you do not really feel aroused. I can’t say you feel pain but there is a sensation that I refer to as “bosisi” that means arousal is the last thing on your mind. But after you are through with the six-week period the benefits are manifold. At a personal level, I last longer during sex,” states Vee.

On realising Vee’s potential as an educator on such health issues, the Ministry of Health asked him to be an ambassador for circumcision campaigns within the country, as he was already involved in continent-wide campaigns.

As we move around Gaborone, the self-styled Lieutenant General, clad in very fashionable gear, tells us about his new role as ambassador for circumcision, which is part of the broader struggle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“I was approached by the group that is led by former President Festus Mogae, the Champions of an HIV Free Generation. I was asked to join the campaign for male circumcision, something which I was happy to do since it is something I personally believe in,” says Vee.

Leveraging on the champions' continent-wide campaign, Vee shot a music video with Zimbabwean icon, Oliver Mtukudzi, and then went for a launch in Ethiopia, with another performance in Zimbabwe, which also acted as a mini-launch.

“Back home I was asked to perform at the Mma Masire grounds in Gaborone West, Phase One. I did this free of charge, as I strongly believe in circumcision and its benefits. I went on to be hired for another eight shows in Gaborone, extending public education on the subject,” he says. That is how the eight shows in Gaborone began.

“We have now embarked on a nation-wide campaign which is working; we are already seeing a lot of people coming through to get circumcised, more than was the case before,” he reckons.

However, he warns people to continue taking measures to protect themselves from contracting HIV and other communicable diseases.

Meanwhile, Vee is coming up with a new album, Reloaded, due to be released on the first week of June. “I’m releasing 10 tracks plus three bonus tracks,” he says.

Music fans should expect a style that is weighed towards kwaito, house and a bit of the house-kwasa that made Vee a household name. He also says he had influences from modern Zambian and Nigerian music, as well as “a bit of Angolan, a lot of Botswana.”

“I really want to be a part of the African music movement. My album is unique, it is unlike anything in the world. The first single, called Shapa Low, is a mixture of house, kwasa and kwaito, and I feel it has the ingredients to be a hit,” enthuses Vee.

He says soon be he will be heading for London for a performance, a sign of how much he has grown as an artist over the past decade. What then, of the recent rumours that he was going to be Botswana's Big Brother Africa representative?

“I would never go to Big Brother,” charges Vee while letting out a hearty laughter. Vee, leaves the Space Interiors studio in Gaborone, over the following week due to continue his safe male circumcision campaign in Kanye.

The self styled Lt. Gen. Vee goes back to the battleground.

DID YOU KNOW?

Botswana has 405 trained doctors, nurses, social workers and counsellors focusing on the Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) programme countrywide. Therefore, the Ministry of Health’s target for SMC is 80 per cent or 480 000 of the country’s HIV negative males to be circumcised by 2016. The programme is on high volume districts where the spread of HIV is more but the process is progressing to even lower districts.

The age consent for SMC is 16 years but the age is specifically for SMC and consent for other surgical procedures still remains 21 years. The SMC programme is one of the 12 programmes within the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care which was established as a response towards HIV/AIDS scourge and as an additional strategy to prevent the virus.

Circumcision lowers the chances of males contracting HIV by 60 per cent. It is hoped that the campaign will lead to lower transmission of HIV to women and the general reduction of the pandemic countrywide.