Embattled Muzila asks Khama to crack the whip
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday March 13, 2018 15:56
This was during the official opening of the Francistown-Tonota dual carriage way and the Thapama Interchange road on Saturday.
Of late Muzila has been subjected to a lot of battering from BDP councillors who wanted to oust her as the mayor of the second city.
Muzila’s relationship with the BDP and opposition councillors is at an all time low. Recently, the party’s head honchos have been shuttling between Gaborone and Francistown in an endeavour to quell the fires that had engulfed the BDP in the northern city.
The party leadership prevailed in its efforts to reconcile Muzila and her fellow BDP councillors who are of the view that she is not working very well with them.
The peace overtures that were brokered by the party leadership, however, seem to have been merely a cosmetic exercise.
BDP councillors are of the view that Muzila violated the peace agreement they signed with her by escalating an intra BDP feud to a national platform and highest office in the country on Saturday.
People who are privy to Muzila’s poor working relationship with her BDP colleagues were surprised when Muzila reported the BDP councillors to President Ian Khama.
Although Muzila did not mention people who were giving her a torrid time by names, her veiled attack against the councillors were later uncovered by Khama before he read his keynote address.
Khama rebuked the BDP councillors for ‘tormenting’ Muzila much to her delight.
Muzila said in her welcome remarks: “Please come to us Mr President when we are fighting and not fighting to see those who don’t want peace in the city. You should come and crack the whip on people who don’t love peace in this city”.
In response to Muzila’s plea, Khama said: “I want peace to reign in Francistown and the country at large. People who are tormenting the mayor of the city (and) all things precious should desist from doing so because she is also precious. You should respect her and stop behaving badly.
“I hope that it is the last time the mayor tells me that there is no peace in the city between her and councillors. We are all Batswana in this country and we are expected to behave well. I implore politicians to behave very well. Ke tsaya gore ke lekile Mma toropo (I hope that I have tried and councillors have heard what I said)”.
Muzila was overwhelmed with joy by what Khama said. She was seen clearly beaming with laughter after the President rebuked the councillors for ‘disrespecting’ her.
Muzila’s weekend victory against the councillors may be pyrrhic. Some BDP councillors later told this reporter that what Muzila did was uncalled for and disrespectful to them because they have sorted out their problems with her using the BDP’s internal structures.
“It was disrespectful for Muzila to report us to the President when we recently smoked the peace pipe with her. We have exhausted our party structures to solve our discomforts with her. We ended up heeding the party’s hierarchy to solve our problem and we decided to kiss and make up. Muzila’s gesture shows that she is still fighting us. We will give her the war that she eagerly wants,” a peeved BDP councillor said on condition of anonymity.
The BDP councillor added that what Muzila only managed to achieve with her overture was to bring the name of her office and the BDP into disrepute.