BDF’s weekend sex rule infuriates soldiers

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) authorities are alleged to be busy cracking the whip at one of the army barracks in Gaborone. All women dating Skwata boys have forcibly been thrown out of the barracks recently, The Midweek Sun has learnt. According to information from BDF Village Camp, the management has tightened the leash and no lover is allowed to enter the barracks during weekdays. Lovers are only allowed to visit during weekends and must return latest Sunday evening. Failure to abide by the rules results in the army men and ladies being heavily punished. Several army men and women were impassioned when discussing their situation with The Midweek Sun. They were however quick to seek anonymity as it is against their code of conduct to speak to the media on issues of army protocol. “They only allow married couples in there, as for the rest of us who are still in the dating phase, we are forced to see our partners only during weekends.” said one of the aggrieved soldiers. The soldiers said the law has long been there, but added that it is often relaxed to a point they completely forget that it exists.They said it is common knowledge that their partners are requested to register their names at the camp entrance and they often stay in camp for as long as they want. Some of them had even permanently accommodated their lovers at the barracks and they were forced to start hunting for accommodation just recently. “It is only when the ‘clean -up campaign’ is in full swing that we are starved of sex, during these trying times we are forced to either masturbate at night or have sex in broad daylight during weekdays because they can’t come here in the evenings to even spend a night.” When reached, the BDF Director of Protocol and Public Relations Major Fana Maswabi said, “I have been with the BDF for more than 20 years and the rule has always been clear that no boyfriend or girlfriend allowed at the barracks.”Maswabi explained that the rule has to be respected because during inspection times, such are bound to happen. However, he could not confirm if indeed outsiders have recently been removed from the barracks. Maswabi excused himself from providing further details on the matter saying he is on leave and requested that the BDF Public Affairs Office be asked instead. Nevertheless, his colleague Tebo Dikole demanded that a questionnaire or fax be sent to their office. It is normally the ladies who are affected by this campaign as the army is male dominated. “This is how our boyfriends end up cheating on us because we are not allowed to satisfy their sexual needs. They end up sexing their army colleagues and there is nothing we can do about it,” noted one of the affected and concerned ladies. The lady went on to say that the public is often quick to label soldiers as heart breakers, however most are unaware that the army boys are actually sex-starved. “They go on trips that last close to three months or even more and when they are home, they are subjected to a two-minute sex game.” Meanwhile, an independent investigation carried out by this publication proved that the law does not sit well with many soldiers. It appears that the BDF is currently enforcing the law only at Village Camp for now. One soldier at the SSKB barracks said they are aware of the rule and they are often told to remove their partners from the camp. He admitted that many of his colleagues are often labelled sex freaks because they are not allowed to cohabit saying it was even torturous when dating someone from far areas. Another soldier based in Selibe-Phikwe argued that the law is now outdated and again it infringes on their rights. “We cannot be told when to sex our partners. That is just wrong, none of those guys has ever abided by that rule, imagine a 40 or even 30-year old being told to have sex only during the weekend,” he quipped. The clearly unhappy soldier even went on to say that the law is outdated and should be lifted because they view it as nothing but abuse of soldiers. “It was formulated during the times of former president Ian Khama.” Some soldiers have told this publication that the removing of their partners from the barracks was a phase that will soon pass. They argued that not all of them can afford marriage or will get married anytime soon and it is unfair that they are denied to have sex freely.