23 March 2023
Sello Motseta
I could not contain a wry smile on Monday evening listening to a radio interview in which the Former President Lt. General Seretse Ian Khama expressed a desire to stand for Presidency of the opposition Botswana Patriotic Front(BPF). He also tried to strike a pre-emptive strike against local conspiracy theorists by saying that he has no intention of standing for the country’s Presidency.
Botswana’s constitution at section 34, dealing with the tenure of the President reveals the President shall, subject to the provisions of this section, ‘hold office for an aggregate period not exceeding 10 years beginning from the date of his or her first assumption of office of President after the commencement of this Act.’
It appears to be dealing with consecutive terms in office and does not explicitly address a situation on what happens if one returns after a break following the lapse of this period. I do not see Khama winning elections and declining Presidency on the basis that he is constrained by term limits.
Khama is a bitter man with scores to little. The carefully staged succession process he planned has been sabotaged by his disobedient protege. Khama, who is naturally a very insecure person, is unlikely to step down voluntarily from office, given a second chance.
So where Khama was circumspect and ‘gun shy,’ in first stint in high office I would expect him in his next incarnation, to be more ruthless and indifferent to public opinion. We also know from past experience that Khama has no problem lying to hide his real intentions.
In response to a question by Tonota MP, Pono Moathodi, on what his attitude was to ‘queers’ – he said it was similar to that of the late Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe who castigated them as lower than ‘dogs and pigs.’
We also know that in September 2016, the same Khama told Reuters he ordered the immediate arrest and deportation of US pastor Steven Anderson, over his anti-gay views.
Anderson, who was a Pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona, notoriously welcomed the gunning down in June 2016 of 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida America saying “there’s 50 less paedophiles in this world.”
It is therefore deeply ironic that same sex relationships have been legalised by his predecessor with whom he is alleged to have deep seated differences. The five judges on Botswana’s Court of Appeal in November 2021 unanimously upheld a June 2019 landmark decision which recognized homosexuality. Homosexuals are now free but journalists increasingly are not.
Botswana’s problem remains unemployment which has increased to about 26 per cent and inflation which has risen eroding purchasing power of most Batswana. Official figures show that we can expect poverty to remain as high as 62.7 per cent. The focus should be on creating a conducive environment for private-sector job creation and not innovate suggestions on sexual relations.
I am saying this because of the amount of disinformation, citizens are being subjected to these days, on social media and elsewhere. It is becoming increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. We need to do our background research and identify contradictions of fact. So many legal cases have been initiated in Botswana’s courts and disappeared into thin air.
If litigation against Khama is a sign of a conflict between the incumbent and his predecessor, we also need to try and understand why it is so difficult for government to win litigation battles.
Khama also continues to refuse to entertain discussions on his return to Botswana, where there is a warrant out for his arrest. We can therefore assume that whilst he is making himself available for BPF Presidency and will take decisions – he is unlikely to enter Botswana prior to elections.
He has a long bucket list of things to do before he returns to Botswana. He wants to do health tests, archive dossiers detailing corruption under Masisi, enjoying walking on the beach in Cape Town, spend more time charming broadcasting journalists on SABC and ENCA etc.
A late ‘bloomer,’ to the charming game he claimed he was building a compelling ‘dossier,’ he would share widely with media identifying the growing incidence of corruption under his handpicked successor. Khama’s new found love for the local media has left me baffled and concerned.
In a formal meet with editors organised by Former Defence Minister Ramadeluka Seretse designed to rebuild the fractured relationship with the fourth estate he told a group of local Editors in his office, he had no respect for the local media fraternity.
In his typically frank style he told us he does not read local newspapers because we wrote rubbish. I asked him how he knew this if he did not read local newspapers – he said people tell him. I loved the sheer honesty and boldness of the man. I also struggled to understand how a sitting President undertook policy issues with far reaching consequences on the basis of ‘gossip and innuendo.’
But I understood the soldier’s limitations. He was not very cerebral nor is he the sharpest tool in town. The lapses in logic were therefore quickly forgiven. I also remember being nominated for runner up journalist of the year at MISA Awards at AVANI where Khama was Guest of Honour.
He told a colleague Soloman Monyame, who was also in attendance that he did not want to touch my hand because ‘we were fighting.’ My crime was I had written an opinion piece saying that the former Vice Ponatshego Kedikilwe, was a much better choice for the Presidency.
I also asked why Khama had failed to publicly disassociate himself from army officers who instigated army mutinies in his name around April 1998 – burning portions of BDF kitchens around the country and writing graffiti saying they were firmly behind him. Khama’s response was to sue me for P1.2million and demand a public apology – I refused through my lawyers at Minchin and Kelly.
He subsequently wanted a one on one meeting – I declined. I agreed to meet him in the presence of my lawyer something he was not interested in entertaining. At the MISA-Botswana media awards at AVANI he therefore insisted I should bow down before him – he however shook my hand.
This petulance would rear its head when I accompanied the Associated Press bureau Donna Bryson to his office to write a news piece about the electoral victory of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party(BDP)after the General Elections in October 2014. I was told I was not allowed to enter his office and was advised by his private secretary that I should stay in the reception area.
I also learnt that a CEDA application submitted in April 2002 was approved but I got a rejection letter from CEDA. To this day CEDA refuses to release my file saying the minutes of the board meeting are their personal property. A legal suit against CEDA has stalled partially because the lawyers wanted me to submit a written affidavit identifying the source of the leak – something I will not do.
I therefore tried to engage the area MP Phenyo Butale to ask for clarification around my CEDA case in parliament but it never happened. I knew the Minister in responding could not lie. Unfortunately my parliamentarian did not come to the ‘party’ – continuously complaining of sabotage.
I would be subjected to the same malicious behaviour by STANBIC bank over a building mortgage I secured from them whilst Editor of Botswana Gazette in 2011. After the third disbursement STANBIC stopped further disbursements for building loan in G/North without any written or verbal warning.
I believed I was being punished for being a vocal critic of our delinquent former President. These personal anecdotes are often useful because some young journalists do not realize the sacrifices made to protect to the fraternity’s freedoms. We are often taken these for granted.
As preparations amongst competing individuals build momentum for the coming general elections, these challenges will face a lot of journalists. It will be critical to stick to verifiable facts.
Critical independent journalists are often systematically side lined and marginalized. We should bear this in mind as we try to rebuild a number of our fractured institutions in an environment where the Media Association Act, hangs like an albatross around our necks.
In President Khama’s inaugural speech on April 1, 2009, he spoke of the need for “greater discipline” in the media. He did so because he recognized the positive influence of the private media in setting the national agenda and sought to bully media into running a PR campaign on his behalf.
This recognition was also evident in the run up to the last elections. Khama showed a willingness to engage only with Argus Online, as he de-campaigned his late father’s party in the run up to the last elections. Contrary to popular belief, access to Khama was deeply restricted.
Local journalists need to jealously guard against allowing themselves to be arbitrarily used by self serving politicians, for their own eccentric ends. We need to continue to verify facts and avoid publishing affirmations of a position by politicians even as they play victim.
It is common cause that savvy leaders around the world have successfully leveraged private media to influence the political process. US president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s adopted the radio for this purpose whilst John F. Kennedy’s employed the television to great effect.
We also recently saw the influence of social media on elections in the early 2000’s, with the election of Barack Obama who skilfully harnessed social media in his first presidential campaign to rally a majority of voters to win the 2008 election.
