Thursday, December 5, 2024

A case of one Samuel Moribame and two separate persons

Dear Editor

What is in a name?
There could be a lot to it as I have come to learn.
I have been avoiding this for some years hoping that the issue would sort itself out but a friend of mine tells me that one of the unwritten common sense rules is that until an issue is fully addressed you can?t simply wish it away.

Of late, I have been inundated with calls from friends and relatives wanting to know if I am now a politician.

When I said no, some of them said, ?Then you must be operating by remote control or else you are in the habit of denying the undeniable.?

I will not be surprised if some would dismiss me saying ?O itatola hela motho yo, ke ene, le fa go tweng, e ka nna mang gape??

The confusion arises from what I consider to be mistaken identity.

Actually, it is a question of 100 percent same name identity; call it a namesake. There is another Samuel Moribame, perhaps in Selebi Phikwe or Francistown.
I can?t be so sure but he is likely to be based in northern of Botswana. He is a politician and is often quoted in the media when performing his political functions and some people thought it was me and, consequently, identified his political activities or views wholesale with me. I must make it abundantly clear that Samuel Moribame is his legitimate name, just as much as Samuel Moribame is my legitimate name. That is not an issue at all here.

For purposes of clarity, I must say Samuel Moribame, who is writing this letter is the Director of Public Affairs of the University of Botswana. He resides in Gaborone and is not Samuel Moribame, the politician. His middle name is Ntshieng. I just thought people should know that we share the same name but we are two separate individuals so that I don?t continue to get a barrage of calls, some from anxious persons each time there is a comment of a political nature in the media attributable to that name but not originating from me.

I hope this matter is now put to rest as it should.

Samuel Ntshieng Moribame
Gaborone

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