Private Wame Ngirl Month, who was shot and killed by a male colleague, was laid to rest this past weekend in Moshupa.
Born in Serowe 24 years ago, Wame was killed by her colleague in the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Major Vincent Unami Tshwenyego (51) while on an international peacekeeping assignment in Mozambique.
Confirming the incident that had quickly flooded social media even before they're next of kin was officially informed, the BDF in a statement revealed that Major Tshwenyego shot and killed Wame then turned the gun on himself to commit suicide, on the 2nd of December 2022.
BDF members attending Wame’s funeral were not even wearing their uniform as is often the norm; not even the army or country flag as would be expected to symbolise that Wame died while on an important assignment representing the country in a foreign country.
Explaining why this was so, a family member, who is also a BDF employee Colonel Kabelo Month said the unconventional manner in which the young army woman made it hard for the government to sanction an honorary send-off for Wame.
Unconfirmed social media reports suggest that Wame was having a romantic relationship with Major Tshwenyego at the time of her death and speculation has been that the two had a related altercation that resulted in the tragic end.
Speaking on behalf of the BDF Commander, BDF’s Major General Molefi Seikano explained further that a soldier’s burial is often determined by how they died, and that is why they buried Wame in the manner they did.
He confirmed that Wame joined the BDF in 2017.
She died while on a six-months assignment and was left with only two months to complete her task in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, Tshwenyego who was a doctor was also buried at his home village in Tutume on the same day as Wame this past weekend. He too did not receive an honorary military send-off.
He joined the BDF in 1992 and moved through the ranks until he earned the title of Major in 2010. He married Kemmonye Tshwenyego in 2015 and together they have five children.