Why would Motswaledi become a target for intelligence operatives?
Richard Moleofe | Friday August 15, 2014 11:45
The nation and the rest of the sub-continent of SADC still pin their hopes on this science to inform us. And scientific results will not lie as long as they are done in a scientific manner and are not tampered with. Indeed there is a possibility of tampering because it seems the stakes are high on this particular issue.
And why would I make such a dangerous extrapolation on the death of this political leader? This question would only be answered by several factors that existed and continue to exist on the political scene nationwide. Motswaledi was a key figure in the Umbrella Project. He had taken a long sabbatical from his job at the University of Botswana to pursue his political ambitions and to make sure that the Umbrella Project by all intents and purposes becomes successful. The fact that the fellow was not married helped him dedicate much of his time to the project without any domestic entanglements.
Motswaledi had so much energy for the project and he died with fire still shut in his bones. Though his friends that helped him in the establishment of his party had deserted him as some had only gone back to the ruling party in a matter of weeks, he was steadfast and his determination to stay the course and his efforts were not overshadowed by anything.
According to his efforts, the Umbrella Project was destined to succeed and this is where the threat lies. Upon the successes of the Umbrella Project would come a change of government and a change of government would certainly shake the current business establishment. I prefer to use the word “change of government” as opposed to regime change. Regime change seems to attract the unnecessary backlash and reaction of a paranoid government. But the word regime bears the same meaning as government or administration. At this moment in time let us play along with the idea of a possibility of change of government with the efforts of UDC. Of course this possibility has even grown further since the death of this outstanding political leader. Motswaledi has been a threat to the ruling class the minute he forged ahead with idea of pursuing the position of Secretary General for the BDP.
The possibility of change of guard within the ruling party would still unsettle certain established business trends regardless of the fact that it would not be change of government but change of leadership with the ruling party. Now that change of government is looming and it is being ushered in by the Umbrella Project, becomes even a scarier prospect that would cause the powers that be to act in a manner that will decelerate the grand project spearheaded toward changing the current government. Judging from the ferocity of the 2009 BDP internal squabbles, the “enemies of the state” are mainly found in the breakaway BMD. Some of these characters that were responsible for destabilising the ruling party still remain within the fold of the BDP and they are not forgiven for their sins. We could imagine a situation where such characters are left exposed to the vices of the marauding opposition in their parliamentary constituencies. Certain characters that have won the BDP primaries have questionable credentials and they are not marching to the drum beat of the party’s drum major. If there is a change of government through the UDC collective effort, the awarding of tenders is going to change overnight and surely we are going to see certain businesses especially in the motor industry kissing the dust. Motswaledi might not have harboured any business interests but his political clout had given the possibility of change of government more credibility than in 1994, the year in which the opposition came very close to winning the general elections.
From what I wrote last week, intelligence operatives were certainly tasked with the kill job if indeed Motswaledi was killed. It seems intelligence in Botswana like anywhere else in Africa is established to protect the interests of the ruling elite. It is through the same organ that external forces can channel in their generous donations to keep ruling parties in power. It is very difficult to trace moneys sent through these conduits and hence the need to keep that secret establishment secret and out of bounds for the rest of us. This institution can also beef up the coffers of the ruling party anywhere else in Africa and this will go undetected because they are not accountable to anyone and they are a law unto themselves.
During Chiluba’s days in Zambia, the president was accused of siphoning millions of dollars from the National Intelligence Agency of Zambia. After he descended from power, calls for his prosecution for abuse of power were echoed in the country. The proposal for Chiluba’s prosecution did not go far because it became evident that such funds had been put to use by his predecessor who is now an elder statesman and somewhat out of bounds for the law.
In the process, intelligence chiefs have always become filthy rich and this is not by chance but by design. And how are we different from the rest of Africa? Even in the US, there would be certain leakages in terms of accountability and that can mainly be attributed to the massive nature of their intelligence organs. In anything, there are always gaps that need to be pursued and corrected, but in Africa there is a consistent abuse of intelligence funds that cannot be stopped and the problem seems perennial in the rest of the continent.
Furthermore, intelligence organs have always played a part in doing business as a cover up for certain things. For instance, the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS) set up a publishing house in Botswana in the 1980s. Newslink as the paper was called became a convenient vehicle for intelligence gathering throughout the country. By nature they had unfettered access to state functions and could sniff for any form of information as long as they played within the acceptable and legitimate bounds of news reporting. In the process they could transact money with ease. Their agents were put on the payroll of the paper and no single individual could question their receipt of such funds as they were channelled through legitimate financial processes.
*Richard Moleofe is a retired
military officer