Merubisi fly no more

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Ndingililo Gaoswediwe

Location : THAMAGA

Event : INTERVIEW

On June 16, Africa paused as it is ritual to honour her child. However, Thamaga, a village sprawling 45 kilometres south east of the capital city Gaborone, portrayed a different side of Africa. That day, village elders were busy administering corporal punishment on a group of children who had been giving villagers sleepless nights due to ill-discipline.

Exactly five months and 13 days later (November 29), at the very same kgotla, the mood is sombre. As the clock strikes 8:30am, the aged with the aid of their walking sticks keep trickling in at the kgotla. Few minutes later, police vans pull off the road followed by Special Support Group (SSG) armoured cars. Security is heightened. By the look of things, the matter at hand is a serious one.

Unlike on June 16, the children, who call themselves Merubisi and had been terrorising the village, are not being whipped. Rather, it is an emergency meeting convened to help bring order in the village. 

Meanwhile, a spit away, some villagers go through all the necessary rituals before they collect the body of a granny who succumbed to stab wounds at the hands of these notorious gangs. So far, she is the third victim since these groups of delinquents unleashed terror on the villagers following them from entertainment spots to their homes.

Village elder, Setlhomonyane Koboyakgomo explains that gone are the days when the name “Ko setho se teng” was relevant to his village. People here live in fear of their own children, citing an incident in which a boy tore a packet of washing powder and sprinkled it on his granny`s head. 

Teachers at the local junior school are also threatening to down tools because of unbecoming student behaviour. Police also confirm that some of these delinquents were caught red handed smoking marijuana in classrooms. A staff member at the same school was left nursing broken limbs in self-defence after an attack while sleeping.

These gangsters do not only operate under the cover darkness. Even during the day. Armed with knives, they rob students of their pocket money. But luck would one day run out for four boys who found themselves at the mercy of Koboyakgomo and some village elders. Upon thorough searching, they discovered the boys carried with them some potion of muti, a sharpened scissor blade, screwdriver and knife. 

“…ba re mo ditoising tse pedi tse, e nngwe ba lwantsha mapodisi ka yone, ba re fa ba tsena fa go bone ba e tsentse mo pateng, mapodisi ba tshegatshega hela fa e nngwe e ba supegetsa gore motho o tsentse madi fa kae, a ke kwa lebeleng la moja kgotsa mo pateng ya molema,”explains Koboyakgomo.

He explains that their findings indicate that there are “companies” comprising foreign doctors, clerics, some public officers, villagers and children. The children, who range from minors to teenagers, are the ones used to perform evil deeds. Koboyakgomo puts all the blame on parents who sweep the weird deeds of “these rascals” under the carpet.

He says of the 23 000 inhabitants of Thamaga, only a handful of parents have brought their Merubisi to the village authorities for discipline and counselling.

“Go supa fa bana ba kgotla ya Mashadi le tsa Ga Sau  ka bobedi e le bone ba di gogang kwa pele mo botlhokatsebeng mme batsadi ba bone ke ba ga ba a tla phutlhegong,” says councillor Tona Selala with a stern voice.

He advises that the search should intensify to homesteads where Merubisi are bred, adding the police officers in the village have overstayed hence are failing to execute their duties properly.

Leading the team that brought to book the children who were whipped in June, Assistant Commissioner Engemadzo Sechele, who is based in Lobatse, is back again but this time around he vows not to leave any stone unturned.

He promises residents a peaceful festive season. He appeals to villagers to be cooperative during the operation and guard against wolves in sheep skins. Of the latest incident, he says six have been remanded in custody and investigations have revealed that the gravity and number of cases are more than the accused persons` ages. 

 At the end of the meeting that went some minutes beyond 2pm, residents made their wish list. In general, they recommended revival of Mephato, and that foreign doctors and clerics should be banned from the village while a new team of police officers should be posted to the village. ENDS

Teaser:

Police promise a peaceful festive season as security is heightened and disciplined enforced in Thamaga