Remembering Doreen

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Epena Ngatangue

Location : Gaborone

Event : Tribute

 

One morning she would enter her office, and, without greeting her colleagues, begin to write her magazine columns.  For the whole day she would not bother to speak to anyone, nor would she bother as to who was there or not.

The other morning she would emerge beaming with wide smiles, laughing and greeting her colleagues with all the jokes one can ever imagine.

That was none other than the late Doreen Morupisi, a renowned journalist who passed away on last month (April 11), after a short illness.

While Doreen would do all those funny things, she was firm, bold and assertive in her work. She would do everything to ensure that her stories were done, and Kutlwano magazine, where she worked until her last moment, had gone to “bed”.

If you did not understand her, you could be pardoned for thinking that she was aggressive, particularly because she presented her point of view with passion. 

For others, her ‘aggressiveness,’ was perhaps understandable because it was simply meant to get things done.

Nonetheless, some colleagues considered her an impatient woman. However, this was because Doreen was not inclined to delays. She believed in timeliness and had passion for excellence. She was a dedicated and disciplined hard-worker.

The Dor or Le Doza, as her legion of colleagues would call her, was a good listener and optimistic even in the face of adversity. Most of her colleagues knew her to be open to criticism and was always willing to do some introspection on her thoughts to determine where she may have gone wrong.     

Her former boss at Kutlwano magazine, and now the Director of Information Services, Russ Molosiwa, said during her memorial service that she was not a push-over on just about anything. 

Molosiwa said even where she had done wrong, Doreen would argue her case until she was totally convinced. He said as she matured Doreen became an agent of change and a marvel to work with. In her best moments, she was a pleasant character. 

During editorial meetings, she would contribute to the lively debates and engineer consensus on ideas that would be followed up as news articles.

One of her colleagues in the Maun Information office where she worked, Rebecca Katjimune, said Doreen was a hard-worker who wanted a job done par excellence. She said Doreen hated reporters who slept on their job. 

“If you do work diligently you would find peace with The Dor,” she said with apparent nostalgia.   

As she matured in her work, Doreen’s guiding principle was to be submissive to lawful authority. 

Although she would often have a strong opinion on certain issues at work, she would eventually give in to management decision on a matter that she originally opposed.

In 2005, her hard-work and the way she handled her assignments earned her recognition to be assigned to head the Maun Information office, one of the busiest in the country.  

Later she went to Serowe on promotion, where she served as Bureau Chief for the entire Central District. 

This was because she displayed leadership ability, communication and interpersonal skills as a team player. 

That journalism was a male dominated profession did not bother her. During her career, spanning 22 years or so, she found herself being the only woman in the different media houses she worked for. 

She once said she felt comfortable when in the company of male counterparts, and to prove that, she was usually in the company of men even in social circles outside work.

Some of those men included Mosotho Modirwa, Zachs Sethaiso, Stryker Motlaloso, Keto Segwai, Morula Morula, and both the late Petrus Ngozana and Mosha Selebogo, among others.

Doreen once wrote in her then famous Kutlwano magazine column, Cup of tea with Doreen:  

“It still beats me why some people think journalism is a man’s field. There is nothing manly about the trade. Yes, women have less muscle than men, but the job doesn’t require us to lift heavy objects. Had that been the case, I would have long walked out.”     

Molosiwa would say the way Doreen viewed life was always reflected in her writings.

Doreen started her journalism career with Mmegi newspaper. It was through the previously weekly newspaper that she was offered a Fredrich Ebert Foundation scholarship to study journalism after completing Form Five in the late eighties.

In 1990 she joined the then Department of Information and Broadcasting as a reporter with BOPA and was shortly transferred to Kutlwano magazine where she remained until her last days.

Although she hailed from Mahalapye, she was born and bred in Lobatse. She trained in Zambia, Zimbabwe, England and Scotland.

Doreen was a fun-loving person who would always say, “Ha go le monate le mpitse.”

What is more painful is that Doreen was about to fulfill one of the most fundamental aspects of our culture, getting married to Ntshekisang ‘Supra’ Mpata. At the time of her death, the traditional part of the marriage, which included lobola, had already been completed.

Those who remain to continue as torch bearers in the late Doreen’s family include her father, brother, two sisters, and her son, Theodore “Boy-boy” Kgotla Morupisi.

May Her soul rest in peace. 

Teaser:

 

If you did not understand her, you could be pardoned for thinking that she was aggressive, particularly because she presented her point of view with passion.