Why do Batswana allow Khama to (mis)rule with impunity?
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
I believed him. One nameless BDP MP tried to sell Parliament the idea of amending the constitution to extend his term of office. He shot down the motion with a bazooka.
Khama would have none of it. Whether the forked-tongued sidekick was trying to make up for his previous faux pas, when he said, freedom and democracy for Batswana was unthinkable, while SKIK was around and in command, one doesn’t know. Khama’s emphatic response made him a creature apart, from the typical African president who prefers presidency-for-life! I was convinced Khama meant what he said.. Nonetheless, Khama isn’t always consistent in speech and conduct. In his inaugural speech on April 1, 2008 the President had shared with the audience why he had joined the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). It was specifically to defend democracy, he told all who were present on that April fool’s day! Have we seen him defend democracy in the past eight years of his rule? Search your memory. He didn’t stop at informing the audience that he joined the army to defend democracy, he unfolded a roadmap dedicated to his tenure of office. He initially called his course, the four Ds. The first of the Ds was Democracy, then Development, Discipline and Dignity.
While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....