Mmegi

Khama not afraid of handcuffs

Following President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s declaration that former presidents won’t be handcuffed during arrest or after conviction, affected party former president Ian Khama says it is not the cuffs that scare him but the poisoning.
Following President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s declaration that former presidents won’t be handcuffed during arrest or after conviction, affected party former president Ian Khama says it is not the cuffs that scare him but the poisoning.

PALAPYE: Following President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s declaration that former presidents won’t be handcuffed during arrest or after conviction, affected party former president Ian Khama says it is not the cuffs that scare him but the poisoning.

“The problem is not handcuffs, charges or arrest, the problem is poison. Remember, they tried to assassinate me in 2019 when I left the BDP and even attempted to poison my food,” he told BPF members here virtually on Sunday.

Khama recently revealed that there were three planned attempts on his life, including the use of biochemical poison in two cases. Since his self-exile in 2021, Khama, who is facing criminal charges, has always maintained that his life would be in grave danger if he were to come back to Botswana to face the music. Khama said in Serowe on Saturday that the BDP tried to poison him.

Khama, who is currently in the UK, said the fact that Masisi said if he (Khama) is found guilty then he won’t be cuffed says it all. He said the State has already decided that he will be found guilty and convicted. Khama alleges that the plan by the State organs is to have him assassinated in jail and blame it on natural causes. “He has already instructed the judges. They have already found me guilty no wonder they are now talking about handcuffs,” he said. He said the issue of Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Bamalete is true indication that Masisi meddles in the judiciary. Khama said he knew that when Masisi said former presidents he was referring to him. “Festus Mogae is an old man and there was no way that was directed to him and they haven’t forged any charge against him,” he said. He said it is ironic that Masisi has instructed the police not to handcuff him when in the past he had absolved himself from any interference in matters related to Khama and the security forces specifically the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS). Khama added that Masisi refers to himself when he says that former presidents won’t be cuffed. “Masisi will be a former president in October and he knows,” he said. Khama recently disclosed that he fled Botswana because reports originating from the three intelligence agencies referred to as SIGINT warned him.

One of the intelligence reports included a seemingly transcribed discussion on the administration of strychnine powder, which is readily available in Botswana. The transcribed discussion included the quantity that should be used, the best way to administer it, and the general effects on any victim. “The plan reportedly involved the use of a highly radioactive substance to be administered during my visits to an isolated conservation resort in Botswana. I visited the camp frequently but exceptionally did not do so in 2019, and the plan was aborted. The information was corroborated by a second source. I was also warned of further possible vectors for poisoning including hand sanitiser, bottled water, face masks, certain furniture, and bedding. Further witnesses have corroborated the planned assassination at the resort and indicated that the plan was to use an isotope of polonium, which was secured from a neighbouring country in anticipation of my visit to the camp,” he told the court recently in a case in which he wants the court to compel Local Government and Rural Development Minister Kgotla Autlwetse to install his cousin, Seretse Peter Khama, as Bagammangwato regent.

When he told the BDP elders in Serowe that Khama won’t be handcuffed, Masisi clarified that he had never tried to assassinate Khama and could never. “Now he says I tried to kill him. I have never come close to killing a human being, the only thing I can admit to killing is a goat, chicken, or cow. I once asked who between us is capable of killing. I put it on record that I don't wish the former president dead,” Masisi told the elders on Sunday.

Editor's Comment
UDC's 100 Days: Please deliver your promises!

We duly congratulate them to have ousted the long ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. Prior to taking power from the BDP, the coalition had made several election promises that are credited for influencing change and swaying the people to vote in its favour.The party had made an undertaking, which its leader and President Duma Boko consistently bellowed in his campaign trail. These undertakings were promises that Batswana would be...

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