Ex-DC Muzila joins the fray - at last

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday July 11, 2008 00:00

 

She retired from the public service this year. Her detractors in the ruling party, have always accused her of engaging in politics even when she was still a civil servant. 

Muzila will contest the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) parliamentary primary elections for Francistown West against the incumbent MP, Tshelang Masisi, and former city mayor Peter Ngoma.

When she was still DC, Muzila was accused by Masisi of eyeing his constituency. Masisi used to complain that Muzila was using her high profile job to achieve her political ambitions. He said Muzila was campaigning by making donations in the constituency.  Masisi used to say Muzila was only targeting his constituency for her benevolent activities.  

At some stage, the issue became so volatile that Muzila's husband, Robert Muzila, had to appeal to the BDP top brass to come to his wife's rescue. 

During the time when the accusations were made against her, Muzila decided to ignore them. Civil servants are not allowed to engage in active politics until after their retirement.

Just before her retirement, Muzila was accused of hijacking a meeting that was called for former president Festus Mogae to bid Francistown residents farewell. During the meeting, Muzila also took the opportunity to announce her pending retirement. This did not go well with her political detractors who felt that 'she was up to her tricks again'.

During the gathering, a civil servants choir, which was engaged for the occasion, was also singing songs in her praise. But Muzila declared that during her retirement she was going to run her private school in Francistown. Muzila was last month part of the observer team that went to monitor the Zimbabwean presidential run-off. 

When she was contacted this week, Muzila declined to comment about her new career in politics. As for the accusations that she was campaigning for political office when she was a civil servant, she said, she did not want to be confrontational. She further indicated that she does not want to make a comment since people might not notice the difference.

Masisi, who is Muzila's main rival, also declined to comment. For his part, Ngoma said he said he was not amongst the people who had been accusing Muzila of indulging in politics when she was a DC. He said he never made accusations against her because he never saw her conducting house-to-house campaigns.

Ngoma welcomed Muzila's decision to contest the Francistown West constituency. In his view, every Motswana has a right to stand for political office. 

He added that the ground is level now because Muzila is no longer a civil servant. Muzila is not the first former senior civil servant to join the BDP upon retirement. In fact, the BDP has become a retirement home for senior civil servants because most BDP legislators and cabinet ministers are retired civil servants. This has led to accusations by opposition parties that appointments to senior government posts are based on party affiliation.

One civil servant recently revealed that he was denied a post of deputy Permanent Secretary because somebody whispered to the big bosses that he was a member of an opposition party. Other retired senior civil servants set to contest the BDP primaries include former police commissioner, Edwin Batshu. In 2003, retired commissioner of prisons, Joe Orebotse, also tried his luck when he contested the BDP primaries in Mahalapye.

Both President Ian Khama and his deputy, Mompati Merafhe, have also been commanders of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). Both entered active politics after retiring from the army.

In the 1990s, former Gaborone City Clerk Gladys Kokorwe (now Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture) had to quit so she could contest the BDP primary elections. She was approached by the party to replace the late MP and vice president, Peter Mmusi.