The reasonable radical: celebrating Gobe Matenge

The Botswana Society in partnership with the University of Botswana will on May 21, 2018, host an evening event to celebrate the life of the late Gobe Matenge, the Society’s chairman for many years and former member of the UB Foundation board. Matenge’s biographer, Professor Richard Werbner, will be the featured speaker at the University of Botswana Conference Centre, where he will share his moments with Botswana's legendary public servant. Matenge was born in Makaleng, and as a young man entered the Bechuanaland Protectorate civil service, serving in the Imperial Reserve, in Mahikeng. After independence, Matenge served in various ministries and positions including Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He retired in 1981. Matenge chaired the Bechuanaland Protectorate African Civil Service Association and then Botswana Civil Service Association (1966-1975). He was noted for his forthright views on behalf of the civil service. In 1976, he organised Botswana’s 10th Anniversary celebrations. Matenge went on to become a successful businessman, community and political activist, as a member of the opposition Botswana National Front and later as a founder member of the Botswana Congress Party. During the 1990s, he served as Chair of The Botswana Society, when it hosted international seminars…