Opposition gores Khama

CHAKALISA DUBE
Staff Writer | Thursday July 11, 2013 00:00

 

FRANCISTOWN: Opposition politicians have returned fire after President Ian Khama hit out at them last week, calling them unpatriotic. 'Khama is a crybaby and a spoiled kid. He has a tendency of thinking that he is more patriotic than the rest of us. He must learn how to speak fluent Setswana before he claims super patriotism,' Botswana Congress Party (BCP) secretary general Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang charged yesterday. He added: 'He must not forget that his citizenship remains controversial up to now. For Khama, when you criticise him and his government you are being unpatriotic. That is why he has deported hundreds of foreigners since he came to power, a decision that has tarnished the name of Botswana. He must learn to condone diverging views both from the media and opposition'. He faulted Khama for attacking the private media and asserting that it is colluding with the opposition. Gobotswang said that the media has played a sterling role in exposing Khama and BDP's undemocratic tendencies. 'If it was not for the private media, Batswana would not hear the voices that are divergent to those of the state. The views of the unions and the opposition parties would not be heard. If there was no private media, Batswana would be the most uninformed about their own country which is not good for a democracy. It is a well-known fact that Khama abuses state media to misinform the public,' he said.

Gobotswana reminded Khama that there are draconian laws that have been passed by his government to make life difficult for the media. 'If he feels injured by the media he should use laid out processes to seek justice,' the BCP firebrand added. He said Khama's utterances are a ploy to intimidate opposition parties ahead of next year's polls.'We are aware that as the general election season approaches and frustration sets in on the part of the ruling party, we expect more threats and intimidation. The BCP will not be intimidated. If he has issues with the BCP, we challenge him for a face to face debate with our leader at a time and venue of his choice,' he stated.

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and Botswana National Front (BNF) spokesperson Moeti Mohwasa said Khama comes across as a person who does not tolerate different views, both from the media and opposition parties. 'He needs to be lectured on what being a democratically elected leader means. It means being tolerant to dissenting views. He must learn that holding an opposing view does not constitute negativity,' he said.

Mohwasa believes that the president's remarks were just a ploy to intimidate both the media and the opposition going into next year's general elections. Meanwhile, Modise Maphanyane the board chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana Chapter said: 'We are concerned about the shoddy treatment extended to the media by the government, especially the president who constantly criticises the media at every public gathering. At times the government labels as untrue some of the private media reports that portray some of its operations in a bad light though in the end it turns out such reports were factual. It is only that some of the things are done secretly by the BDP government and when the media exposes such actions, it is termed irresponsible and unpatriotic. Anyone not happy with some media reports should use formal procedures to complain instead of using public gatherings as the president does,' he said.

Maphanyane said instead of disparaging the media at every turn, the government should consider the media as partners in the development of the country. The government, he said, should engage the media through dialogue in a bid to improve relations between the two parties. The BDP deputy executive secretary Lee Lesetedi responded thus when contacted by telephone yesterday: 'Maybe in future we will consider engaging in dialogue with the private media with a view of harmonising our relationship.'He, however, said that he does not see a problem with the president attacking the media and opposition during public gatherings. 'The president is publicly responding to unjustified attacks made against him and the party in the media (which is a public medium). Such attacks (to the president and the BDP) are also made in public by the media and some from the opposition,' he said.