Of President Khama, Mosu and Botswana constitution
Correspondent | Friday April 8, 2016 15:05
In fact by extension Africa was shining when South African Chief Justice delivered a breath taking judgment on a case involving the improper use of public resources to upgrade security at the private home of Jacob Zuma in Nkandla.
In addition to security upgrades a cattle kraal, chicken run, swimming pool, visitor’s centre, and amphitheatre were included and paid for by the tax payer.
The Public Protector had decided that these were non-security features that should be paid by President Zuma. Parliament got involved in the matter as the African National Congress (ANC) used their numerical strength to undermine the power of the Public Protector and by extension the South African Constitution.
At the heart of the case was whether decisions of the Public Protector are binding. We watched with envy as the Chief Justice of South Africa Mogoeng Mogoeng put the argument to rest. It was a seminal judgment. In very clear terms Mogoeng CJ ruled that remedial measures proposed by the Public Protector were binding.
The judgment went a step further to say that President Zuma and by extension parliament failed to defend, protect and uphold the South African Constitution. Zuma did not only accept the judgment but also apologised to millions of South Africans.
As events unfolded one could not help but think Ian Khama is very lucky to be the President of Botswana where he is above the Constitution and Moruping Dibotelo is lucky to be the Chief Justice of Botswana. Dibotelo is presiding over the Constitution that defends, protects and upholds the Office of President. My assessment of Dibotelo CJ is of a man who does not have the spine to take on the Head of State if faced with similar circumstances.
In Botswana taking an oath of office to defend the Constitution of Botswana is as good as taking an oath to defend, protect and uphold the Office of the President of Botswana. The crafters of our Constitution did a serious disservice to this country. Philip Matante (MHSRP) the Leader of the Botswana Peoples Party at the time took a correct decision to walk out of the constitutional talks in London. Our Constitution is a farce.
Under the Botswana Constitution, citizens and all that belongs to them are not protected against excesses committed by the President. Practically speaking, all institutions in Botswana pay allegiance to the President, because he wields absolute power.
We in the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) have experienced first-hand the shortcomings of the Botswana Constitution. In 1999 we made a formal complaint to the Office Ombudsman concerning the use of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) helicopters by the then Vice President Ian Khama even after he ceased to be a member of the army.
Lethebe Maine (MHSRP) the then Ombudsman ruled in our favour. The decision of the Ombudsman was never effected since it was not binding. To our disappointment and shock President Festus Mogae set a bad precedent by allowing his deputy to continue abusing state resources. It was a dark day for oversight institutions and they remained ineffective up to this very day.
Despite these setbacks the BCP never gave up in executing one of its mandates of holding the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to account. Currently we have pending complaints before the Office Ombudsman, Directorate onCorruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), and the Directorate of Financial Intelligence Agency.
The complaint concerning the construction of a presidential home in Mosu is before the Ombudsman and DCEC.
The Mosugate scandal was widely reported in the local media indicating that public resources may have been used in the development of the presidential home including Mosu airstrip. There are other unanswered questions related to the application and ownership of the plot, whether the airstrip met aviation standards, and whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project was ever carried out.
We also have a complaint before the DCEC and Ombudsman relating to the piloting of a BDF aircraft by the President, during a funfare at Matsieng Air and Motor Show at Rasesa in July 2014. An issue relating to suspicious financial transactions involving Isaac Kgosi the Director General of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) is still with the Directorate of Financial Intelligence Agency.
Backed by weak legislation and Constitution the above oversight institutions are rendered ineffective allowing the President and other powerful individuals to do as they please with public resources.
Following the current events in South Africa, we hope those who have argued against a comprehensive constitutional review in Botswana would rethink their position. A lot is broken in respect to our governance institutions and it needs urgent fixing.
* Kesitegile Gobotswang (Phd), is the deputy leader of Botswana Congress Party