Before the starting gun fired at the World Athletics Relays, a brass band from Ramotswa turned Gaborone into one giant street party, proving that sometimes the real warm-up act is culture itself
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Before the athletes sprinted for glory at the Debswana World Athletics Relays in Gaborone over the weekend, another kind of relay was already happening across Gaborone’s streets: rhythm passing from one dancing body to another.
Cue the horns.
One minute traffic was crawling. The next, people were filming, ululating and dancing behind the moving sound machine that is Ramotswa Brass Band. In a city usually powered by car horns and deadlines, the band delivered something radically different, joy with trumpets attached.
And honestly? Botswana looked alive.
Founded in 2017, the 15-member group began as a youth initiative in Ramotswa after Tshegofatso Tau donated instruments to young people eager to showcase their talent. What started as a community music project has now become one of the surprise cultural highlights surrounding the World Relays.
“We received so much appreciation and love from the audience,” said founder and manager Tshepo Taukobong in an interview after the band’s roaming performances around the capital.
WHEN BRASS BECOMES STREET CULTURE
There is something cinematic about a brass band moving through the city. It interrupts routine. It demands attention. It turns sidewalks into dance floors.
For a sporting event obsessed with speed, Ramotswa Brass Band slowed people down just enough to feel the moment.
The group was brought in after being recommended to a patriotic motswana, Salim Kegodile, and quickly became one of the unofficial emotional soundtracks of relay week. Residents danced in parking lots. Pedestrians abandoned their seriousness. Even government officials took notice.
The band later performed at the athletics medal handover ceremony at Orapa House, where Botswana unveiled the Diamond Gallery and attached national symbolism to every medal handed out during the relays.
THE SOUND OF A NEW BOTSWANA
What makes Ramotswa Brass Band fascinating is not just the music — it’s the symbolism. A local youth brass band performing during a global sporting spectacle feels like Botswana finally understanding that culture is not decoration. It is identity.
With two albums under their belt, Pelo Robala (2020) and Pula ya Medupe (2022), plus radio play on RB1 and RB2, Ramotswa Brass Band is no longer just entertaining crowds.
They are becoming the sound of Botswana showing off.