Gov’t blames Botswana’s reputational damage on Khama
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday May 23, 2022 04:21
The ministry admitted that the rivalry between President Mokgweetsi Masisi and Khama has tarnished the integrity of Botswana, specifically the former’s negative comments about the country.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Foreign affairs permanent secretary, Gladys Mokhawa clarified that the skirmishes between Masisi and Khama do not necessarily cause the reputational damage but utterances made by Khama.
“The utterances tarnished the image of the country and put the country in bad light”. She gave an example of an incident where Khama blatantly told South African media that Botswana is a shadow of its former self and has turned into a ‘banana republic’ under his successor.
Last year Khama expressed that the Masisi-led government is trying to turn the country into a ‘Banana Republic’ during an interview with the SABC news television channel. Khama said Masisi has reversed all the great progress the former president has done including his own father Sir Seretse Khama.
Mokhawa also revealed that they are concerned as the custodian of the national integrity and Botswana’s national interests. She explained that they are tasked with protecting the image of this country. Mokhawa further admitted that the utterances have affected Botswana’s image and integrity in the international space and therefore they have continuously reassured other nations that Masisi was legitimately elected in the 2019 general elections.
“Botswana is still the same Botswana with a good reputation that it had,” she said.
Mokhawa was responding to a question from Taolo Lucas, who asked whether the tension between the former allies has caused reputational damage to Botswana. Foreign affairs’ comments follow the government’s recent statement that Khama’s utterances have the potential to tarnish the good image of this country. “The government of Botswana is rather perturbed by Khama’s launching of persistent attacks on the State both locally and externally, which is rather peculiar for a former head of State. These attacks and insinuations have a calculated effect of obscuring the necessary attention to issues of compliance with the law that is expected of every citizen, including from high-ranking political figure heads,” acting permanent secretary at Botswana Government Communications and Information Systems John-Thomas Dipowe revealed in a statement. Dipowe said the allegations made by Khama to the effect that there is regression of the democratic values in Botswana are not only unfounded but also misleading and to a large extent a distortion of the reality on the ground.
The Bangwato Kgosi, who fled the country fearing for his own life and currently in a self imposed exile in SA, said he was aware that the current regime is going to try to discredit and embarrass him. “I am embarrassed that the country is being exposed by this regime as being dishonest, intolerant and continuing to undermine the rule of law in order to target opponents of the regime and its dictator through fabricated charges. It only serves to make me more determined to bring about their downfall,” he told this publication after being slapped with 14 criminal charges.