Statement on remarks made by BDF Commander; Lt. Gen Tebogo Masire

| Friday July 8, 2011 00:00

The Opposition Collective in the National Assembly of Botswana condemns in the strongest terms certain remarks attributed to Botswana Defence Force Commander; Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire at a press conference on June 29 2011.

In particular we wish to isolate his statement  wherein he  levelled unfounded accusations at  the Opposition.  An examination of the remarks in question clearly demonstrates that by attacking opposition politicians and falsely  accusing them  of inciting BDF officers to stage a mutiny  during the recent public sector strike,   General  Masire deliberately crossed the line into active  partisan politics.  We do not recall any instance in the history of this country when  a BDF Commander has ever assumed such a partisan political posture in favour of the ruling party.

Even when the current President and his deputy were in charge of the BDF, they always  sought to protect the integrity of the army as a professional, apolitical force which had no business dabbling in party politics. 

The sanctity of civilian oversight over the army in which the rules of engagement are clearly demarcated by the BDF Act has always  been respected.  This explains why Batswana  of all political persuasions and social backgrounds  take such immense pride in the role and conduct of the BDF.

By making his unfortunate, and patently false remarks, General Masire risks destroying the  hard-earned reputation of the BDF, cultivated over time since inception in 1977.  As the entire nation ponders what could have led to such  irresponsible utterances, we can only surmise that in his euphoria to celebrate the extension of his contract by another two years, General Masire thought the best way of showing his appreciation to his benefactor was to come to  his defence on account of the state of siege in which President Khama and his BDP government find themselves.

General Masire is free to curry political favour with the President, but that should not extend to compromising the founding ethos and values of the army in a democratic Republic. As the shifting sands of time point to a change of government in 2014, the nation should ask  itself; when the inevitable happens, and the old  order yields place to new, will General Masire accept the democratic verdict of the people?  It is unfortunate that a man who has hitherto exhibited rectitude and level headedness  has overnight mutated into both a merchant of fiction and a political activist.  General Masire  seems to harbour a desire to emulate the actions of one notorious Brigadier General  Douglas Nyikayaramba of the Zimbabwe  National Army who has stated that even if the MDC won elections in that country, the  outcome will be rejected because they consider  Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai a 'national security threat'.  'Hence Botswana should be afraid; very afraid when a General Nyikayaramba clone emerges from the highest echelons of the BDF.

We call on the nation to exercise vigilance and keep a watch on people like General Masire who have no inhibitions whatsoever in undermining the integrity of key state institutions  in pursuit of self-advancement and material gain.   We further call on all BDF officers to focus on their mandate of defending the country and  not be distracted by the political antics of their Commander.

We are convinced the views expressed by  General Masire are exclusively his own, and do not represent the thinking of the entirety of our men and women in uniform who remain committed to the professionalism and political neutrality of the institution they serve.

In conclusion, we challenge General Masire   to retract his words and tender an apology to opposition politicians.Should he fail to do  so, we extend an invitation to him to resign his post, discard the uniform which he wears  with such great honour, and join active politics; his new  found passion.

We can assure a civilian Tebogo Masire that we will   be ready for him at the freedom  squares.

Botsalo Ntuane  -BMD(Leader of Opposition)Dumelang Saleshando (BCP)Isaac Mabiletsa  (BNF)