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Lieutenant General Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe Lieutenant General Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe’s star began to shine in 1977 when Botswana’s founding president, Sir Seretse Khama, asked him to form the Botswana Defence Force. In the same year, President Ian Khama bestowed upon him the highest, most prestigious award in the country, ‘Naledi ya Botswana’ - the star of Botswana.
Lt. Gen. Merafhe started his career in the Botswana Police Service and in 1971, was promoted to Deputy Police Commissioner. In this position he was in charge of the Paramilitary Unit (“PMU” as it was known) and was therefore the natural choice to head the BDF when it was formed. He personally designed the army’s coat of arms and interviewed the first group of officer cadets - among which were two future BDF Commanders, Lieutenant Generals Matshwenyego Fisher and Tebogo Masire. With the improved budgetary position, discovery of diamonds and renegotiated customs union with South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, as well as enhanced multilateral aid, Botswana was in a position to build its own army. However, forming an army was an uphill task because Lt. Gen. Merafhe had to start from scratch. The infant army suffered a major setback the following year when 15 of its soldiers died in an ambush laid by the Rhodesian army. Soon thereafter, Major General Merafhe - as he then was - ordered his deputy, then Brigadier Ian Khama (the current president), to neutralise the Rhodesian threat. This entailed making incursions into enemy territory. Lt. Gen. Merafhe was a stickler for discipline and his
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insistence on disciplined soldiers helped earn the BDF a reputation as one of the most professional and disciplined armies in Africa. The BDF Act sets the retirement age for an army commander at 55 and in 1989, two years before he reached that age, Lt. Gen. Merafhe stepped out of his army uniform and into a business suit and the world of politics. He was appointed a Specially Elected Member of Parliament, and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. In 1994, he was elected MP for Mahalapye (now Mahalapye West) and moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he remained until 2008 when President Ian Khama appointed him Vice President. As Foreign Affairs minister, Lt. Gen. Merafhe successfully fought off a campaign by Survival International, a London-based pressure group, to tarnish Botswana’s name. The Lt. Gen. is considered to have excelled as Foreign Affairs minister, resulting in President Nelson Mandela of South Africa recommending Lt. Gen. Merafhe for the chairmanship of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. As Vice President, Lt. Gen. Merafhe was in charge of project implementation across ministries and chaired the
Cabinet Committee on the Economy and Employment which met on a monthly basis. His foreign affairs background stood him in good stead when he had to undertake international assignments on behalf of the president – such as addressing the United Nations General Assembly. In 2008, Cuban President, Mr Raul Castro bestowed a Medal of Friendship on Lt. Gen. Merafhe and during a visit to China, the Shanghai Normal University conferred an honorary professorship on him. He has two other big feathers in his cap: the Legion of Merit from the United States of America and the World Citizen Award for Excellence from The Bahamas. Married with five children, Lt. Gen. Merafhe retired and resumed his life as a private citizen of Botswana on Wednesday, 1 August, 2012 after 52 years of public service. In his farewell address at the Lansmore Hotel, MASA Centre, on 6 September 2012, Lt. Gen. Merafhe expressed his gratitude to have had the privilege and honour to serve Botswana. He entered into politics with a desire to pursue people-centred development. He leaves as a witness of the birth of the Republic and a participant in the construction of a strong democracy and an economically prosperous society.