Johnson Mabona

Johnson Mabona:

“Bless! Bless! O ntlele diteki rra!’’ (Make sure you get me sneakers when you’re 
overseas my guy)
My friend, Big Joe (middle finger guy) – over the landline phone – resoundingly 
congratulated me for being named among the top performing (aggregate, I had failed 
maths terribly!) 1999 O’level students in Botswana – to be awarded a Tertiary bursary to study outside the country. He had called to happily inform me that my name was among the other top performers in the Guardian Newspaper, (or Mmegi?) – just 
before the 7 am Radio Botswana news. I had ambitiously applied to the University 
of Botswana to study Bachelor of Law and was still wondering what my next move would be, in regards to my long awaited and prolonged independence from my dear and strict parents. Unfortunately, the national service of Tirelo Sechaba that I had always looked forward to was history. 

P.S. I owe you diteki Joe, give me 2 years!