Seretse would agree with us
Mmegi Editor | Friday October 3, 2014 12:10
The media stands for the rights of any downtrodden people, we stand for human rights. We stand for our democratic ideals that have brought us this far, and will not shy away from shouting it from the rooftops, when and if we see the virtues that built this nation being trampled upon with impunity. In that regard it does not matter who provokes our ire. For our anger is the people’s anger, only we make it more noticeable, more audible, and more readable.
In the last few months especially, we have been accused of writing more and more critically about the government and the man at its helm, President Khama, who has gone on record to express his hatred of us. And that hatred is inspired by nothing other than the fact he does not want to face the truth. It is a hatred constantly watered by puppets, some of whom have even gleefully and publicly declared that being malope is what they were born to be. Sadly that is not what the President’s father Seretse Khama would have approved of. Please see our extract ‘Seretse Speaks to Ian from the Grave’.
In fact Seretse would have been appalled at the fact that Ian is becoming more and more like the people whose conduct he condemned several years ago. These include the likes of Robert Mugabe and Uhuru Kenyatta. Seretse would be appalled that his son, Ian, has become so averse to criticism that his government can unabashedly impose visa restrictions on highly celebrated and harmless visitors, simply because they are visiting members of an opposition party .
Seretse would be horrified at the fact his son can load his party’s supporters into a military plane to a political rally some 700 kilometres away. For not only is the plane public property, it is fueled at the tax-payer’s expense and flown by a civil servant. The taxpayer also pays its support crew. He would be shocked at his son’s hatred for the fourth estate and his disdain for correction.
Seretse Khama would be aghast at the fact one of his son’s creations, the DIS, tortures and perhaps even murders people. He would be as shocked as all other Batswana who have watched Botswana transform into the dictatorship that it is now.
One of our cornerstone principles as the media – especially in this country- is to remain non-partisan. However, that does not mean we will keep quiet when we see our beautiful country slip into totalitarianism. So far all the actions by government point to that. And Seretse would agree with us.
Today’s thought
”When someone opposes you saying “No, chief this is wrong, you need to do it this way,” do not hate the person. That person may be your true friend, even better than the one who grovels’
– Seretse Khama