Molale warns DIS chief
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday February 12, 2016 15:32
Isaac Kgosi reportedly said that MP for Gaborone Central, Phenyo Butale and Gabane-Mmankgodi legislator Pius Mokgware were talking nonsense. The utterances were allegedly made during a meeting to discuss the allleged assassination plot against Mokgware.
Molale assured Parliament that he had acted against Kgosi’s demeaning utterances towards MPs when they met the DIS boss with Molale over the alleged attempted poisoning of Mokgware.
Butale had wanted the minister, who was on the floor accusing Mmegi of wanting to tarnish the government image by publishing the story of a “mad man”, to explain if he referred to a meeting in which the trio had with the DIS boss, where Kgosi said they (Butale and Mokgware) were talking nonsense.
Molale was rebutting Mmegi report on the ‘hit man’, Richard Kgotlhang.
“I wanted also to know; you spoke about the meeting in which I attended and the Honourable Mokgware attended.
Is it the same meeting where the Director General of DIS said Honourable Members in myself and Mokgware were talking nonsense in your presence? Is this not proof enough that he is a law unto himself and you cannot do anything about him?
“I wanted to also comment about this issue of building a case against the media. Is this not building a case against censorship of the media and censorship of the public of Botswana in terms of the laws that are coming? Are you not building a case to come and clamp down on the fundamental and foundational human rights of the freedom of expression,” Butale said.
Molale responded to say he had already taken appropriate action on the matter.
“Mr Speaker, the meeting that Honourable Butale is talking about is a meeting that indeed I am referring to, and the incident that he is mentioning I did take accountability for that and responsibility and I have taken an appropriate action (sic). That is why I am mentioning here that nobody is above the law, including me. So, that is the point Mr Speaker.”
Regarding attempts to sanction the media, Molale said: “Freedom of expression is not a one-sided issue.
If the newspapers have and strongly believe so, that they have freedom of expression, it does not mean that when I stand up here and express freely what I think about them is wrong. It is not.
So, what is indicative here is that we, as the government have been quite for a long time because we are tolerant, but there comes a point where we have to say these things out and point to the fact that there are laws that have to be followed”.
What other MPs said
SPEAKER: Order, order, Honourable Member. Honourable Moswaane I should inform you that Honourable Nkaigwa is fond of saying things with his
microphone switched off. He wants me to chase him out so that in the end he dares me to bring proof that he actually said that. I have told you to relax and watch the space because the time will come where Honourable Nkaigwa will answer for this. I have tried to talk to him about what he has been doing and so Honourable Moswaane do not be too worried about that.
KESUPILE (KANYE SOUTH): Thank you Mr Speaker. I just wanted the Minister to clarify to us whether the words he has been saying with such passion
are an indication that he is going to give the independent print media a headache for a long time because the points he stressed showed he was going to give them a tough time not for one day, but for a long time. Secondly, and lastly, the person you have been mentioning and considering him to be mad, do you think it is appropriate for you to consider him to be crazy in Parliament before Members of Parliament when he has no way of answering for himself with regard to your
statement?
MANGOLE (MOCHUDI WEST): Honourable Minister, the man that you have just mentioned by name, the one you read a quote about his madness and agreeing with it, was he mad when he was a DISS agent or he started being mad after leaving the DISS?
DAVIDS (MOCHUDI EAST): Mr Speaker, do you still deny the fact that there are hit men? Please tell me who killed Kalafatis? Secondly Honourable Minister, the newspapers that you are trying to silence; they have been protecting you but
we shall request them to report on everything that you do in the country.
KEORAPETSE: Why do you think your government has a good name while there are so many people who died because of extra-judicial killings, including Kalafatis whom until today, we do not know...
BATHOBAKAE: Honourable Speaker, I heard the Minister saying that we should trust the DIS and support them. Honourable Minister, how can we trust them if they can hire mad people to do cruel acts of killing people? And even when they can say Members of Parliament are talking nonsense? Is this right when we pay people with our taxes and they make people suffer like this?