Masisi yet to act on Khama make up - BDP
Chakalisa Dube | Monday March 6, 2023 06:00
This was confirmed by Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) spokesperson, Kagelelo Kentse yesterday. Early last month Masisi expressed a desire to reconcile with Khama when addressing a party gathering in Shoshong.
“Ke rapela modimo gore nako ngwe re tla kopana maitshwarelo (I sincerely pray that one day we (him and Khama) will settle our differences and eventually reconcile),” Masisi said during the much publicised Shoshong rally.
He also spoke glowingly about Khama’s presidency. His remarks raised hope amongst Batswana that tension between him and Khama, which started more than three years ago, will soon be a thing of the past. Some neutrals have in the past expressed worry that the tension could deeply divide the country if not diffused.
The former president fled to South Africa when tension between him and Masisi heightened. His reasoning was that he feared being persecuted.
Khama immediately responded to Masisi’s Shoshong gesture by saying that he would send his younger brother Tshekedi (Khama) to lead reconciliation efforts with the President. Days later, he would express his frustration that Masisi has gone mum on the possibility of exploring reconciliation with him. This week Kentse appeared to suggest that Masisi is keen on reconciliation, but Khama is the one delaying.
“Khama had said that he would send his younger brother Tshekedi, we await that,” Kentse told Mmegi.
Tshekedi is also on a self-imposed exile in South Africa and his seat will be declared vacant if he does not totally attend the current Parliamentary sitting, as he would have missed three sittings in a row.
President is still waiting for TK. Khama is in South Africa so who is representative here? Reconciliation means meetings. Masisi may have his representative ready but Khama had promised to send Tshekedi as his representative, okae?
After Masisi expressed his wish to reconcile with Khama, there was mounting speculation that Tshekedi’s arrival in the country (to pursue reconciliation) was imminent. But according to sources, Tshekedi recently told a Botswana Patriotic Front national executive committee (NEC) that he is still assessing the suitability of coming to the country. He is reportedly worried that he might be persecuted if he comes to Botswana. The NEC was reportedly worried about his continued absence from Parliament.
There are those who believe that talk of reconciliation by Masisi was just a well calculated political gimmick because the President was addressing a rally in the Bangwato tribal territory where Khama has solid influence.