In April 2017, I went to Gaborone and sat for numerous hours with Sir Ketumile upstairs at his residence. The very first day we met, he outlined, in very direct language, exactly what he wanted the book to be about. He was particularly adamant about addressing misinformation about the early years of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), and also in discussing strategic and organisational mistakes that the modern BDP had been making since he left office. I assured him that I would give him what he wanted. His opinions, I found, were judicious, factually correct, and justifiable in needing to be heard. After a month I returned to America, where I had to move with my family to a new residence. During this time, Sir Ketumile passed away, with the project still in its early stages.
Nevertheless, I now had a contract with the Sir Ketumile Masire Foundation to produce a manuscript—the contract clearly stated that I would be paid to write the manuscript and that the Masire Foundation would be responsible for publishing it. I returned to Gaborone later in 2017 to continue my work. During this time, I interviewed numerous contemporaries of Sir Ketumile who had worked with him in various capacities at Domkrag and the government. These included DK, PHK, Mogae, Dada, Morake, and Chiepe, to name but a few. One half of the book dealt with Sir Ketumile’s peacekeeping efforts in Rwanda and the Congo from 1999-2003. Sir Ketumile maintained that his efforts at this time had been underappreciated due to the discretion he exercised in his diplomacy. I was able to contact and interview most of the members of his team (such as Ten Ten Makgonatsotlhe) as well as others in Europe and North America) in order to gain information about his efforts. Additionally, I spent a busy week in Kenya in 2018 where most of the records of his team were located.
