Khama should keep his lane

Mmegi Editor | Monday June 12, 2023 06:00

However, this week their internal strife reached another level as factions drew out daggers to launch war at each other. Surprisingly, all this happened at a time when the parties had agreed to ceasefire.

At the centre of all this bickering is the patron of the party, former president Ian Khama. His role as the BPF patron was supposed to be more of a Godfather kind of, a unifier and peacemaker if you like. However, Khama has completely diverted from the role and assumed a completely undefined role within the party. He is more of a breaker, fighter and an agitator.

His recent remarks that came at a time when other party leaders were preaching reconciliation are a sign of a divisive figure within the rank. The patron has publicly attacked party president, Biggie Butale, and indicated that they are not on good terms.

Since Butale took back the BPF presidency following a one year suspension, he and Khama have been at loggerheads specifically because the latter wants the presidency of the party for himself. If a party patron can disparage publicly his party president, what more of ordinary members? It is clear that Khama’s idea to leverage political gains on tribal considerations has always been a risky undertaking.

If he is not careful, the BPF could become the new Botswana People’s Party (BPP). The BPP at some stage had national appeal until such a time that it found itself pushed by irresistible circumstances to a tight corner in the North East with merely a regional appeal. The party was associated with the dominant tribe in the North East. To date, the BPP does not have a single elected legislator in Parliament with only a negligible number of civic leaders to its name. Khama should be cautious of this and tread carefully if he wants the BPF not to go obsolete.

The former president should reflect and retrace his steps to find where exactly he lost track. He is a patron and that’s the role he should stick to. After all, it is not amusing to see a former president embroiled in all this. He has stooped so low it is even embarrassing for a neutral bystander. It is clear that Khama needs to come back to his senses for the BPF to find peace. Today’s thought

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” Ronald Reagan