Goitseone Unplugged
Source : Kutlwano
Author : Baleseng Batlotleng
Location : GABORONE
Event : Cover Story/Profile
She has even convinced her listeners that she is indeed 42 years old. It is undoubtedly her penchant for yester-year`s mosakaso music that makes her listeners fall for the story. For unlike most of her peers who are so steeped in R&B, hip-hop or some pastiche called kwaito-kwasa or house-kwasa, Goitse`s time slot is recognizable by her play of Mosakaso, a genre greatly loved by the oldies.
In the countryside, where Radio Botswana reigns supreme, Goitse is the throb of many a village. It is even safe to say that the warm skinned Gweta lass has revived the love for mosakaso which became famous in the 1960 and 70s. She has brought to life internationally acclaimed groups to have come out of Zimbabwe during that era - John Chibadura with his renowned Kufa hakuna memba hit, Paul Matavire, the Four Brothers with their Makorokoto amongst others. And she knows all the tracks and lyrics like the back of her hand.
“I am Kalanga which makes it easier for me to understand Shona. I`m not saying I am perfect but I can put pieces together. My listeners actually enjoy this music and when I try to play something else they call in and ask that I play mosakaso or old school disco hit, that`s the relationship I have developed with them so far,” she says with a confident tone. She also understands a bit of Zulu and Ndebele. But really, how old is Goitse? She is 33, she says reluctantly after several minutes of persuasion.
This is your Lexghumujira (moth) or Mandanakhwe (a doll made of rags) as she is fondly called by her host of loyal listeners. Her natural voice and good wit blend to make her one of Radio Botswana`s best voices. Sit next to her, and be charmed. You are also likely to go wobbly if you are a fainthearted Adamite and envious if you are one of those insecure Evites. Not too long ago, she was barely known, even then it was mainly by former school mates and friends but in just three years, Goitse has become a brand, thanks to her job as a top notched continuity presenter for Radio Botswana - The Station at the Heart of the Nation.
But who is the real Goitse? “nna ke ngwanyana hela wa ko Gweta waitse, ga gona ka botoropo mo go nna, ba kgonne go nketsha ko Gweta mme Gweta yo o mo go nna ene ga ba kake ba mo ntsha, I don`t fit mo matshelong a bofefo a toropo,” she says before taking us on a journey of her childhood in the sandy Central District village of Gweta. She would, like most girls, run errands and do household chores such as washing dishes, cleaning the house, cooking and fetching water.
Born in Maun and bred in Gweta, Goitse has carved a niche for herself on the airwaves. An interesting character, Goitse is consistently the same person on and off air.
“What you see is what you get,” says the presenter of Ja mokoto le Goitse which runs weekdays on RB1 from 2pm to 5pm. A mother herself, she still yearns the affection of her mother Leatame Selabe or MmaOnkokame, to whom she is just Puni, a girl name used by doting mothers on their little girls.
A natural born straight talker who sometimes fears that her loose tongue will land her in the wrong corner, Goitse did not allow her rural village stereotype to stand on her way. She still talks straight – sometimes too straight on radio. Perhaps a perfect description of her character and physical appearance is best summed up by Maun based traditional dance artiste, Stika Sola Molefhi, in his piece, Mashita Kozirwa. “Mmamotshwana dumela, ka molomo oo bala-balang…” Ironically, the youth radio personality is the one who popularised the song after adopting it as a signature tune for her afternoon show.
“I have never met Stika Sola ebile ga ke mo itse. I was actually impressed by his eloquence in blending rich figurative language and his own language. Ke rata ka fa monna yo a tshamekang ka segabone ka teng. Bona tshwene ke Kgosi, sethora ke lepodisi, kare tube ke mokwaledi, na ri kari kari ku kwenda, ha monyana a sa tsewe, ka ke thutwa seja dithare, bale ke bo tshwene, ba sheta ne magopelo...” She chuckles as she belts out a rendition of her favourite track with a polished command of Seyei language. It is interesting to note that the track actually refers to somebody who does not take advice if not very stubborn. Ask Goitse if her choice of the song has anything to do with her personality and she jumps out of her couch and laughs out loud, even a little stubbornly: “Your judgment of my personality will depend on what you think and what you know about me.”
Goitse`s love for radio goes way back to the time she was a pupil at Gweta Primary School. She would visit her cousins and they would listen to Radio Botswana` s popular presenter Lesego Kgajwane as she hosted Inola, a popular programme with primary school children then. She also had an undying love for arguably one of Radio Botswana`s lost talents, Phillip Moshotle. Fittingly, today Goitse finds herself working side by side with Kgajwane and others who influenced her.
“I can say I`m living my dream now because I had dreamt of working in this environment even before I did my junior certificate. I envied bo Rre Mogatusi Kwapa, Last Rakgasa, to name but a few and by the grace of the Lord they are the same people who I`m working with and they are giving me guidance now,” she adds. She is sixth in a closely knit family of six sisters and one brother, although sadly she lost her two elder sisters earlier on and her father passed on last November.
Being a village girl, Goitse had no idea about continuity presenting. Her big break came when Radio Botswana took her aboard. Radio Botswana`s longest serving and most experienced continuity presenter, Geofrey Motshidisi, took her under his wings and mentored her. It was the same Shombi or Rraagwe Malaakatse, as Motshidisi is affectionately called, who led Goitse to the continuity presenter`s desk and ensured she blossomed into the fine presenter she is today.
It was a relationship finely crafted by fate. For Motshidisi was a student of one Alfred Galegake Lefhoko Selabe, popularly known as AGL back at Primary school in the late 1960s. Selabe was Goitse`s late father!
Her followers simply love her, and they are worried when they feel she is not in her element. So whenever they feel she is not as warm as always, they call her to understand why she is “quite”. That is the relationship Goitse has developed with her listeners. They understand each other and expect her to tell them what is believable and not what is necessarily true.
For someone in the limelight, there would be many high moments. However, Goitse remembers best the time she was given the mammoth task of co-hosting Kalola Matlho, a popular all-night programme on RB1 airing on the last day of December every year to usher in a new year.
She had only been going to the studio for 11 months. She was also charged with a live outside broadcast of the first poverty eradication Pitso in Diphuduhudu. Looking back, she realises the assignments helped her mature several times in the few hours she worked them.
Goitse first cut her teeth in journalism in 2009 when Botswana Press Agency temporarily engaged her as a reporter in Serowe where she worked under the tutelage of the late former deputy editor of Kutlwano, Doreen Morupisi. She stayed for only four months before taking up the microphone and hosting an afternoon show on RB1.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication with majors in public relations and broadcast journalism from North West University, South Africa. She wears a diamond studded gold ring on her ring finger, a warning for guys to keep off. But she would not talk about her private life.
“All you have to know is that ke mmaagwe Mbako le Mbatshi. My private life is a no go area,” she says with mock anger. In addition to hosting Ja mokoto le Goitse, she also hosts Lentswe La Monana on Thursdays. ENDS
Teaser:
To most of her RB1 listeners, Goitseone Moathodi has a mysterious age of 42. Even as we speak, Goitse, as she is fondly known, has mischievously not known any other combination of numerals except 42 to represent her age. Ironically, her age has never changed despite her celebrating her birthdays every 29th day of July...
