The Raid on , June 14, 1985: A memorial

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Author/Creator Nyelele, Libero; Drake, Ellen Publisher Libero Nyelele and Ellen Drake Date 1985-14-06 Resource type Pamphlets Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) Coverage (temporal) 1985-1986 Source Northwestern University Libraries, 968.1103.N994r Description Table of Contents: The Raid; The Victims: the Dead; The Injured; Property Damage; Epilogue; Poem: Explosion of Fire; Lithograph: the Day After; Post Script Format extent 40 (length/size)

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6g M, I THE RA ON GABORONE: JUNE 14 l.985 by Libero Nyelele and Ellen Drake n 0**. , b t, t 0 0 -.#. e THE RAID ON GABORONE: JUNE 14, 1985 A Memorial/ by Libero Nyelele and Ellen Drake

Published in Gaborone, Botswana, June 14, 1986, by the authors. Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge, with thanks, the many organizations and individuals who contributed to the publication of this book. Proceeds from the sale of the books will go to pay the costs of publication; profits, if any, will go to the June 14th Rebuilding Fund, to be used to aid victims of South African aggression against Botswana.

CONTENTS The Raid. The Victims: The Dead. The Injured. Property Damage. Epilogue. Poem: Explosion of Fire. Lithograph: Post Script. The Day After.

THE RAID ON GABORONE: JUNE 14, 1985 1985 was not a good year for Gaborone. One could say it was the year the small, southern African capital lost its innocence. Until recently, the most notable thing about Gaborone was its phenomenal growth rate. It is said to be the fastest-growing capital in Africa, and possibly in the world. From a population of 3,855 in 1964, two years before Botswana's independence, to an estimated 70,000 in 1985, the small dusty country village burgeoned and sprawled into what was well on its way to being a metropolis. New businesses popped up weekly, housing complexes appeared almost over night, and the once empty streets and shopping malls filled with people. "Development" was what Gaborone was all about, and even with the drop in diamond prices, and drought and foot and mouth disease affecting the livestock industry, most people in" the capital were primarily interested in getting a share of its prosperity. Business thrived, and the country's stable, multi-party democracy was an international show-piece. When the South African army raided Maseru, Lesotho, in 1983, killing more than forty people, there were some fears that Botswana might be the next target. But others believed it unlikely, and one man said, "Botswana is the darling of the international community. The South Africans would not risk angering the rest of the world by launching an attack on Botswana." But , either insensitive to world opinion, or disregarding it for reasons known to itself, ignored the international outcry and three times during 1985 attacked targets in Gaborone.* *A fourth bomb blast that occurred in the village of , 44 km. north of Gaborone, killed four people and injured two on Saturday, November 16. No one claimed responsibility for the blast. The dead were Mr Ramontsho Ralefala, aged 32; Miss Charity Mokoko, aged 21; Mmilo Molotsi, aged 6; Tumelo Molotsi, aged 1.

The first instance happened on February 13, when a bomb destroyed the home of South African refugees living in the Jinja section (a suburb) of Gaborone. Refugee Nat Serache had noticed a number of South African registered vehicles in town, however, and he anticipated trouble. South African refugees can never afford to relax. Mr Serache sent his wife and children to stay with friends while he himself remained alert and watchful in their house in Jinja. When the raiders came to his house, he slipped out the back door and narrowly escaped death when his home was reduced to rubble by a bomb. Not so fortunate was Nathan Moagi Moeketsi, who lost his life in a singularly gruesome fashion around ten o'clock in the morning on May 14. The Botswana DAILY NEWS, a tabloid published by the Botswana government, reported that he "was torn to pieces together with his car by a powerful bomb blast .... In what eye-witnesses described as the most horried" (sic) "spectacle seen in this capital for many years, the man's body was blown into pieces, while shrapnel from the ill-fated sedan were sent flying in all directions." He was 29 years old, and had married another South African exile only six months before his death. His young bride was in their flat when her husband met his death. She will have, for the rest of her life, the memory of kissing her husband goodbye as he left the flat to go to town, and seconds later, hearing and feeling the explosion which blew him to fragments. Still, Gaborone residents thought these were isolated incidents, attempts by Pretoria to eliminate specific individuals whom they suspected of actively plotting against the system. The raid of June 14 shattered that illusion, and along with it, the peace and security of Gaborone. THE BOTSWANA GUARDIAN, a bi-weekly private newspaper, reported on June 19: "'The hell started at about half past one on the morning of Friday the fourteenth of June. Some time earlier, a convoy of twelve white Datsun E20 kombis and six Ford Cortina vans had rumbled across the border, somewhere in the region of the Tlokweng gate. Behind them, it is rumoured, waited a back-up force of tanks and armoured vehicles in case the operation should run into trouble ...."

"At the Tlokweng circle, the vehicles split up. Each had its target; a so-called 'terrorist base.' Oncoming traffic was met with loudhailer shouts of "Gaan terug'" (turn back, in Afrikaans) reinforced by threats to open fire on those drivers who disobeyed. Parts of the road were seeded with thousands of pyramid-shaped twists of wire designed to shred tyres. Then the killers got down to business." (THE BOTSWANA GUARDIAN, Wednesday, 19 June 1985, article by Gwen A nsell). The same newspaper showed a map of Gaborone, with the targets marked on it: "1. Behind Tuyli Court. Nkulu Motsweni, killed; Elena Motsweni, injured. Busiziew (10) injured. 2. & 3. Tsholofelo and Tshweneng. George and Lindiwe Phahle, killed. Joseph Malaza, killed; Basi Amos Zondi, killed. 4. Maru-a-Pula: Duke Machobane, killed; Peter 'Pat' Mofoka (6), killed. 5. Extension 10. Michael Hamlyn, killed; Ahmed Mohammed Gheer, killed; Roeli Gheer, injured. 6. Bontleng. House flattened. 7. Village. Kelape Kesupile (19) and Eugenia Kobole, killed. 8. Madirelo. Solidarity News Service, offices wrecked. 9. & 10. Tlokweng. One house wrecked. Thamsanqa Mnyele, killed; Moitse Botshelo, injured; 'Prince,' injured." (THE BOTSWANA GUARDIAN, 19 June 1985.) Meanwhile, South African Foreign Minister stated that "The South African Security Forces had no alternative but to protect and its people from the increasing number of terrorist attacks emanating from Botswana .... " (Quoted in THE STAR, June 14, 1985, p. 3A) Chief of Staff of the SADF, General , said that the targets were ten African National Congress hideaways where the inhabitants formed the "control centre of the ANC's Transvaal sabotage organisation." (Ibid., p 1). Not all, even among white South Africans, saw the situation that way. In: an editorial in the same newspaper, Barry Jammy, chairman of the Witwatersrand region of the Lawyers for Human Rights, commented that within South Africa a day when there is not any unrest or violence is more note-worthy than the fact that the struggle has been going on for decades. And another man, in a letter to the editor (THE STAR, June 25, 1985) said: "Botswana is a country I have grown extemely fond of through my frequent business visits there. "In a turbulent continent it has long been a model of peace and non-racial democracy. "'That the SADF should have blasted its way through Gaborone, wounding and killing as many Batswana (and Dutch) civilians and children as it killed ANC supporters, I find, well, just horrible. "'As it is a small town, there are not many secrets in Gaborone (population 70,000). I find it difficult to believe that a hand-grenade training school existed in one of its backyards. "Nor am I convinced that the Botswana government, which has shown such prudence in our troubled subcontinent, would have turned a blind eye to such activities. "I do note that the justification for the raid came from the same SADF that has frequently lied about its affairs - the recent Angolan 'withdrawal' and Cabinda incident being the latest example. "In your editorial of June 17you asked if there were not a better way to curb violence 'than to use the army to imitate terrorist tactics." Your answer was dialogue. "I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is that Messrs P. W. Botha and Pik Botha consistently reject dialogue on the grounds that the ANC are men of violence and that the UDF is no more than afront for this violence. "I put it to Pretoria: can a government which has killed innocent women and children in Gaborone and Maseru; that has seen 60 odd people die in its detention cells; that, from 1980 to 1984, armed the now notorious MNR rebels in Mozambique; that is known to support the Unita rebellion in Angola; that has been severely criticised by its own judiciary for the killing of 20 people at Uitenhage; can such a government call itself 'non-violent'?" Barry Simon

The remains of Nathan Moagi Moeketsi's car, after the explosion in which he lost his life on May 14, 1985.

THE VICTIMS: THE DEAD 1. Eugenia Kakale Kobole, born October 11, 1964, , Botswana. Eugenia was living with her friend, Gladys Kesupile, in one room of a two- roomed servants' quarters. The other room was occasionally occupied by two young men, who did not sleep there but used the place for doing their laundry and as a shelter during the daytime. Neighbours speculated that the young men may have been the targets of the bomb that destroyed the building, but this rumour was not confirmed. "Eugenia was a student at the commercial school at the Catholic cathedral," said a teacher from the school. "She was a very pleasant girl, and nice looking, too." (She had been crowned 'Miss Teenage Number One' in her home village, Tutume, in 1983.) "She came to this house very recently. She had just got a job about two weeks before she died. She was so jubilant - you could see the happiness on her face. She called the Principal of the school to tell her the good news, and to give her the telephone number of her new office." The school Principal said that Eugenia had started her course in April, 1984, and had finished in March, 1985. "I feel sorry for the parents. It is hard to save money to send a child to school. Fees are high, and it is expensive to support a person in Gaborone. They must have sacrificed a lot to send their daughter to school, and no doubt they were hoping she could help out with the younger ones at home, now that she was employed. I was impressed that she had called us up when she found work. Not every student does that. She sent greetings to all the staff. That shows you that she was an unusually thoughtful and considerate girl." A friend described her as "A deep person, graceful and gracious. She was a devout Jehovah's Witness. She had been brought up a Roman Catholic, but after she came to Gaborone she joined the Jehovah's Witnesses. I believe she wanted something intense and total, which she found there. She used to stay with her brother, somewhere behind Club 500. She had only recently moved into the house where she was living when she was killed."

2. Gladys Kelape Kesupile, born 1964, , Botswana. Gladys was working as a house maid at the home where the servants' quarters was situated. "I knew both of them, they were my friends," said one of the other maids, who was employed in a neighbouring residence. "Both were not married. They did not have any boy friends." (This was in response to a question about the young women's relationship with the two men who sometimes stayed in the other section of the building.) "Gladys just liked to learn about the Bible. Both Gladys and Eugenia had no children. Gladys completed Standard 7 but she got sick when she was in Form 2 and did not go to Form 3. She had some sickness in her heart. Her father and mother are in Tonota. I liked Gladys and Eugenia because they were good. They were not angry to other people. They used to lend me money when I ran short, and I also used to lend them money sometimes." A friend said, "Both Gladys and Eugenia were living their lives according to the Bible. True Christians look forward to the coming kingdom of God. We believe God is going to bring a righteous government some day, so Jehovah's Witnesses are neutral with regard to politics."9 The building in which Gladys and Eugenia were sleeping was blown to fragments, and pieces of twisted corrugated metal roofing, shattered bricks, and human flesh were scattered throughout the neighbourhood. The subsequent claim by the South Africans that a hand grenade was found in the building afterwards is grotesque; nothing even slightly explosive could have survived, intact, a blast that pulverised human flesh and concrete.

3. Michael Frank Hamlyn, born March 14, 1961, Nelspruit, South Africa. He was a refugee who arrived in Botswana on January 12, 1982. "Mike was my friend," said a worker for a volunteer agency in Gaborone. "He went to the university in Durban for two years, where he was a very good student. But he was called up for the army. He decided he was not willing to serve - he was what is called a 'moral resister' in South Africa. That is a person who believes that apartheid is wrong and that it is wrong to support it in any way. His nick- name/was 'Mild Mike'. He was very gentle. And he was a first class student. I don't know if he was involved in anything political but I d6n't see how he could have had time - he was too busy studying. He was one of only two people in the history of the University of Botswana who ever got a first class pass in science, and the first one who ever got it in physics. When lie was awarded his degree, there was a standing ovation in his honour. Michael's father, in an interview with the Botswana weekly, MMEGI WA DIKGANG (28 September, 1985, p. 4), said that at one time he had wished to avenge his son's death. The newspaper stated his views: "People lose their sons every day and in all sorts of ways - hit by drunken drivers, blasted by lone gunmen for no particular reason, stabbed in the street. But some die particularly South African deaths - stepping on a landmine, burned by a mob, or at the receiving end of 'rubber bullets and birdshot' " "He did a lot of work with MEDU..." (a cultural organization, based in Botswana, which gave voice to antiapartheid sentiments in addition to encouraging local writers and artists). "He did most of the 'dog work' for the Culture and

Resistance Symposium which was held some years ago at the University of Botswana. He was intelligent, politically conscious, concerned with seeing a liberated South Africa. He also had an amazing ability to act as a peace-maker in social situations. He could reconcile differing points of view." Shortly after the departure of the raiders, Michael Hamlyn's body was found by a neighbour. It was crumpled at the foot of his bed. The room was spattered with blood, pocked with bullet holes and blackened by smoke from explosives. "When I saw the bed was empty, at first I thought, 'thank God, he has escaped.' But then I saw a lock of his red hair - it was unmistakable - and blood, and what looked like pieces of meat and bone. I'm afraid I did not have the courage to look any further - I did not go to the other house, where the Geer couple stayed. I just turned back and tried to get help from the police." The following day, after the remnants of Michael's body had been removed, a deep pool of his blood was still liquid.

4. Ahmed Mohammed de Geer, born May 15, 1949, Golkayo, Somalia; a refugee from Somalia, he had acquired Nederlands citizenship. He arrived in Botswana on June 28, 1984. "I can tell you about Ahmed Geer," said a Dutch friend who had known him since his arrival in Gaborone in 1984. "But let me start with his wife, Roelie. She was just a normal Dutch girl, from a working class family. She had an ordinary education, nothing spectacular. But she has a mind of her own and when she met Ahmed, she fell in love with him and married him. "With the change in government in Somalia, many of the educated elite fled the country and became refugees. Ahmed was one of those. He was very handsome.He was tall, soft-spoken, and very sober. He was a Muslim, but not a fanatical one. He would take a drink occasionally, but never more than one or two beers. He did not smoke. He was a computer specialist, and also knew how to pilot a helicopter. "But in Holland he could not get a job. And despite Holland's general tolerance, the Geers did get some bad reactions to their mixed marriage. So they decided to start a fresh life together in Africa. "They tried Zimbabwe, but although they could find work, the bureaucracy was so slow that they did not manage to get work permits and residence permits even though they stayed there for a year. So they decided to try another counry, Botswana. "They came here, and both got work, along with the necessary permits. All they lacked was a home. You know how difficult it is to find accommodation in Gaborone. So when they saw an advertisement asking for someone to share expenses, they eagerly responded. Mike Hamlyn was the one who placed the ad - he had managed to get the house, but was not able to pay all of the rent himself. So he moved into the servants' quarters, and turned the main house over to Roelie and Ahmed. They had moved in only two and a half weeks before the raid. They were delighted; it was the first time they felt they had a place of their own. Roelie was expecting a baby - she was four months' pregnant.* They were buying second hand furniture and had just purchased a nice double bed from the Camphill Community carpentry workshop. Ahmed was one of the nicest men I ever met. He would not fhurt a fly and I do not believe he was involved in anything political, certainly not in ." The house - the first real home of their married life - was gutted; little remained of it except the outer walls at either end. Even these were so cracked that they could not be salvaged, and the house had to be completely demolished before rebuilding could begin. Ahmed was killed instantly. Roelie received severe gunshot wounds in her legs. She crawled to a neighbour's home after the raiders had left, and they took her to the hospital. She fled home to the Nederlands a few days later, still in shock. She later had to undergo psychiatric counselling to help her recover from her ordeal. *The baby, a boy, was born in November, 1985, in Holland.

5. Cecil George Phahle, born May 25, 1938, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was a South African refugee who arrived in Botswana on December 13, 1976. "George came from a well known family in Alexandra township, about eight and a half miles northeast of Johannesburg," said an acquaintance who had known him before he came to Botswana. "His parents are teachers. His father served on the Alexandra school board for many years. His elder brother is a lecturer in London. George was a salesman for a while in Soweto. He was a very sociable, well-known person. He operated a transport service between Gaborone and ." (Lobatse is a town 75 km. south of Gaborone.) "He knew they were after him," said another of his friends. "They telephoned him one time, to say that they noticed that he had a new car and was living in a nice house. He just said 'Yes, and I have seen you taking photographs of them.' That was as long ago as August, 1984. He asked me if his brother could stay with me, as he did not want his brother to die, too. But I said it was not possible - I am not in a position to take somebody into my home."

6. Lindiwe Maude Malaza Plhahle, born 15 November, 1948, Johannesburg, South Africa. Lindiwe, or Lindie, was George Phahle's wife, a social worker employed by the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Botswana government. She arrived in Botswana on December 13, 1976. "Lovely Lindie is no more," said a young woman who had worked with her. "Lindie came from Dube village, a suburb of Soweto. She was a good organizer. I saw her when she served on a committee for social welfare. She was one of the leading people on the committee. She was very helpful, and sensitive to the needs of other people." A close friend of hers agreed. "She was the rarest type of social worker. She did not see people as 'cases,' she saw them as human beings. 'She had a beautiful voice; she could have been a professional singer, but she thought it was better to be a social worker. But she used to sing at fund-raising events, such as for MEDU. "I was at school wifh her - a very elite school run by a Benedictine mission, the Inkamana School. She was very outspoken. "Later, we were at university together. After we had both graduated, 1 was one clay reminiscing with one of the lecturers. He had been away for a while, and we were talking about our university days. We were discussing a number of people we had known. 'But nobody will ever light up this university like Lindie Malaza,', he said."

7. Joseph Malaza, born 1957, Johannesburg. Joseph was Lindiwe Malaza Phahle's brother, and had arrived in Gaborone for a visit on June 11, three days before the raid. He had come to pick up an automobile and take it back to his home in South Africa, where he was a student. Neither he nor the car survived the car was incinerated, and a year later remained a blackened derelict in front of the Phahle's former home, a monument to senseless destruction. George's brother; Livi, was also in the house. He survived by rolling under a bed. He later said that the raiders - white, Afrikaans-speaking - had stormed into the house, chasing George and Lindie into a corner. They shot them in cold blood, then deliberately, clinically, took photographs of the lifeless bodies. Joseph, who was hiding inside a wardrobe, was shot and killed through the closed door.

8. Themba Duke Machobane, born July 26, 1953, Johannesburg, South Africa. A South African refugee who was a teacher at Matlala Secondary School, Tlokweng (a village about 15 kilometres outside Gaborone), he arrived in Botswana in October, 1985. "Themba was easy-going, a jolly fellow,,' said one of his former colleagues. "He was very fond of soccer. He married recently - I believe it was in January, 1984, to a woman from Lesotho. They met in Ibadan - where he attended the University of Ibadan and obtained a bachelor's degree in English literature."

9. Peter Kamohelo Mofoka born March 5, 1979, Maseru, Lesotho; nephew to Themba Duke Machobane's wife. Peter liked to play with the other children near his home in the Broadhurst extension of Gaborone. "I was fast asleep when the shooting started,' said the mother of one of his friends. "I was the first person in the house to hear the noise," she continued. "I woke my husband. We saw the South African soldiers, with rucksacks on their backs, wearing helmets and takkies. They parked the combi in the cul-de-sac and surrounded the house and started shooting. Our house was shaking." "We used to Dlay football," interjected Peter's friend. "And we played with ty, es ..." (rolling them along the pathways in fields and between houses, chasing them - a favourite game of small boys in many parts of Africa) "... We used to play hide and seek." "My husband works with refrigerators," explained the woman, "and the children used to hide sometimes in the old refrigerators. I think Peter was a clever child. He was crying for his mother - Mama, Mama! - when they shot him. I suppose they killed him to keep him quiet."

10.; Harry Thamsanqa Mnyele born December 10, 1948, Johannesburg, South"Africa. He was a South African refugee who arrived in Botswana on August 10, 1979. "Thami was an artist," said one of his co-workers. "He had worked at the National Museum and Art Gallery in Gaborone, where he held an exhbition not too long ago. He was one of the refugees who was supposed to have left Botswana two or three weeks ago, but for some bureaucratic reason he had not done so. He had experience as a graphic artist, and had worked in several studios in Johannesburg. He was an accomplished artist. I would not have thought he was political enough to merit the label 'prime target.' Many people join the ANC because it seems to be the most coherent force outside South Africa, and there might have been a chance for Thami to go for further academic training under their auspices. he was concerned about bettering himself as a human being, and as an artist. "He was despondent about not being able to go back to South africa to visit relatives and friends. He was a very lonely person. He left South Africa originally because he was an illustrator and had provided illustrations for poets who had commented on the situation there. He started getting harrassed around 1977 or 1978. He would have been arrested if he had stayed in South Africa. Well, if you are a sane person in South Africa, you do get arrested." Another friend stated: "When we lost Thami, we lost a treasure. This true not just for the South Africans. The input that he contributed was unbelievable for the period of time he was in exile. He was an inspiration to musicians, artists, theatre and the film industry. When they killed Thami, the boers made a waste."

Art work by Harry Thamsanqa Mnyele. oft

11. Dick Nkukwana Mtsweni, born 1914, Bethal, South Africa. He was a South African refugee, unemployed in Botswana. He arrived in Botswana on August 4, 1981. "Mr Mtsweni came to Botswana because his children are in exile from South Africa," said a person who knew him. "I do not know where his children are, but they are not in Botswana. I don't think Mr Mtsweni was political at all. He was an easy-going old man, very humble. He was not working, and he went to night school, because he was illiterate and wanted to learn to read and write. He had lived in Botswana for the past two or three years..." Another source stated: "He is survived by two widows. One was shot by the raiders and is in the hospital. The other, I believe, did not live here. He had a grandchild who was also wounded." A speaker at the memorial service held for the dead said scathingly of the raiders: "They said they were looking for terrorists. A six-year old child, a terrorist? A seventy-one year old man, a ter~rist?"

12. Basi Amos Zondi, born 1925, Cape Province, South Africa. A businessman who had lived in Botswana for four or five years. "He was killed by mistake," said a friend. "He lived in Broadhurst - " (a suburb of Gaborone) "and when he heard the gunfire, he went outside, maybe to see what was going on or to run away because he was afraid. So he was just shot. An expatriate woman who knew him well said "He was an old-fashioned, courtly African gentleman. He had manners, presence, and a gentleness of nature that was immediately noticeable. It was a pleasure to do business with him. He had a charming wife, and they had a very strong marriage. He had spent some time in Zambia, and had motored down to Zimbabwe in an old Bentley that was his pride and joy. He gave a lift to a hitchhiker, and because he was tired, he let the hitch- hiker drive. The hitch-hiker wrecked the car. Mr Zondi did not say anything against the hitch-hiker but he was very keen to get his car repaired and get it back to Botswana. I knew him for eight months, on a daily basis, and never once did he discuss politics. His friends had no political connections as far as I know. If he was involved with politics, it would have been in an administrative manner. He was too old to be a threat to anybody. If he had been 'dangerous,' it would have been when he was young; so why didn't they go after him then? The fact that he reached this age makes me believe he was not politically active against South Africa at all."

THE INJURED 1. Elinah Mtsweni, born 1925, South Africa. South African refugee who arrived in Botswana on August 4, 1981. Injuries: bullet wounds on buth feet and fracture of right arm. She has since moved to Zambia. 2. Busi Mtsweni, born 1975, South Africa. Refugee. Injuries: Fracture of right thigh. She has also moved to Zambia. 3. Prince Mampane, born 1960, Botswana. Citizen of Botswana. Injuries: Bullet wound on right thigh sustained during random firing by raiders. 4. Moitse Botshelo, Born 1960, Botswana. Citizen of Botswana. Injuries: Bullet wounds on the back and waist. 5. Roelfin Geer, born August 6, 1958, Amersfoort, Nederlands. Arrived in Botswana on June 28, 1984. Injuries: bullet wounds on both legs, shock. She returned to the Nederlands a few days after the raid. 6. Tebogo Gqabi, born September 16, 1980, South Africa. Infant dependent of South African refugee. Injuries: shock. 7. Jean Fisher, born July 14, 1945, London. British citizen, school teacher. Injury: shrapnel in left eyeball, temporary loss of vision and shock.

PROPERTY DAMAGE: (1) Location: Tlokweng village; owner: Mr Andrew Matlapeng; tenant: Harry Thamsanqa Mnyele. House riddled with bullets, doors and windows broken, water and electricity installations extensively damaged. (2) Location: Tlokweng village; owner: Kgomotso Mogome; tenant: Lerato Motsepe. House and furniture riddled with bullets.

(3) Location: United Automobile building, Gaborone Industrial site; owner: United Automobile; tenant: Solidarity News Service. Duplicating machine, photocopier, typewriter and steel cabinets extensively damaged, telephone call box riddled with bullets.

(4) Location: House number 5007, servants' quarters, Gaborone Village; owner: Botswana Housing Corporation; tenant: Eugenia Kakale Kobole and Gladys Kelape Kesupile. Building reduced to rubble.

(5) Location: House number 2914, extension 10, Gaborone; owner: Mrs Maureen Magole; tenants: Mr and Mrs Ahmed Mohammed.de Geer in the main house, Michael Hamlyn in the servants' quarters. The middle section of the main house was completely destroyed, and the walls so badly cracked that they had to be demolished before rebuilding could begin. The servants' quarters were riddled by bullets, doors and windows smashed. (These buildings were later rebuilt by a group of volunteers calling their organisation the "June 14th Rebuilding Fund," better known for their campaign slogan, "Buy a Brick.")

(6) Location: House number 7819, near Maru-a-Pula, Gaborone; owner: Botswana Housing Corporation; tenant: Themba Duke Machobane, his wife Rose and her nephew, six-year old Lesotho national Peter Kamohelo Mofoka. House riddled with bullets, windows, doors and some furniture damaged. A Ford Cortina car, BD 8584, parked behind the house, was also riddled with bullets. (7) Location: House number 13212, Tsholofelo, Gaborone; owner: Botswana Housing Corporation; tenant: Dick Nkukwana Mtsweni and his family. House extensively damaged. Toyota Hilux BD 4603 burnt to ashes, another Hilux pick- up, BZ 8275, had canopy damaged.

(8) Location: House number 15547, Tsholofelo, Gaborone; owner: Botswana Housing Corporation; tenant: Timothy Williams. The entire house was reduced to a pile of rubble. Mr Williams escaped injury and later fled to Zambia. (9) Location: House number 15717, Broadhurst, Gaborone; owner: Botswana Housing Corporation; tenant: Cecil George Phahle and family. The house was riddled with bullets. A Honda Balade car, BD 9482 was burnt to ashes; a Volkswagen, BD 2895, and a Toyota Hilux pick-up, BD 7834 had wind screens smashed. A 75-seater bus, BZ 5641, had two windows smashed. A television set and telephone call box were riddled with bullets.

(10) Location: House number 2067/8, Bontleng, Gaborone; owner: A.N.C. office; occupants: office and official residence. The main gate was dismantled, house and servants' quarters were completely destroyed by gunfire and rockets. A dog was killed and burnt to ashes, but no human beings were occupying the building at the time of the raid. 34

EPILOGUE The bare, skeletal facts do not, of course, convey more than a dim perception of the suffering inflicted during the raid. We could not contact all the survivors; some of thlose to whom we did talk were inarticulate, stunned by the enormity of their loss. Others had already left Botswana before we were able to meet them. But we know that some of the survivors had to undergo psychiatric treatment to help them overcome the effects of their trauma. On the other hand, one South African refugee said, "Yes, of course it was a personal loss to me and I am sad about it' But it didn't mess up my mind like it would have done if I had not been born and raised in South Africa, because in the townships, such things happen all the time. And they are still happening there. It's just that here in Botswana, people aren't used to it." The victims of the raid of June 14, 1985, were unarmed, sleeping in their beds when they were slaughtered. Their plans were cut short, their friends and families shocked and bereaved. Indeed, people in Botswana were not used to such things. But now, we have lost our innocence.

EXPLOSION OF FIRE Ear and peace-shattering Explosion of fire! Freezing the senses, Suspending time. Rolling orange clouds of concealment. Fireball car, heavy gun fire spitting. Shouting and screams..... Heavy gunfire ripping. Silence - 0 God what is happening? heavy gunfire - again? Heavy gunfire silencing the screams, Only the crackle of the burning car now. Pounding ears strain From this silence. to catch meaning God, my face hurts! There's blood on my hand My blood Their bullet I can't see. OheGod, mst o m haing Help me to think. by Jean Fisher.

Lithograph: "The Day After," by Libero Nyelele

POST SCRIPT As this manuscript goes to press, South African raiders invaded Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, killing and maiming citizens and leaving behind broken bodies and smashed property. At dawn on May 19, 1986, a number of helicopters flew over the village of , a few kilometres from Gaborone. While some of them hovered like angry bees over the village, shooting around the perimeter of the camp and dropping leaflets addressed to the people of Botswana, others landed in a local resident's yard and disgorged what witnesses said were fifteen to twenty men. the invaders ran to a housing complex and began shooting and tossing explosive devices wantonly. They reduced the home of' the landlord to a shambles, wounded three citizens (including a soldier of the Botswana Defence Force) and killed a sleeping man, Mr Jabulani Masalila. The dead man and all of the injured were citizens of' Botswana. The housing complex which was attacked had once housed a South African refugee; but he had left in 1983 and since that time the only occupants were citizens of Botswana. It makes a bitter irony of the statement in the leaflets dropped during the raid: "We regard the people of Botswana as our ftiends and neighbours. We have no fight with you. "

Part of the buildings damaged on May 19, 1986. ° . j ~e q 'S 0