The past two weeks have been dominated by terrible news. Locally, the saddest moment was the loss of three Water Utilities Corporation employees. Surely, it has been a horrible wait for the families of those employees ÔÇô first, they had to endure a painful wait for rescue efforts. Second, after couple of days of rescue operation, the families had to undergo prolonged wait for their beloved ones to be found. At the end though, all the three employees were found drowned in the Gaborone dam. The police investigations are still ongoing and, hopefully, as a nation we will get full answers as to what really happened on that fateful day.
Externally, the past fortnight was dominated by mass killings of miners in one South African platinum mine. This occurred just a stone throw from us near Rustenburg. In what started as dispute over wages, in which employees were demanding a salary increase from around R4000 they currently earn to R12 500 a month, tempers reached a boiling point. At the centre of the dispute was the issue of representation. The workers had rejected representation by the all-powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which they accused of siding/protecting the interests of capital ÔÇô and also a member of the umbrella union Cosatu which is affiliated to the African National Congress (ANC).
They, in turn, opted for Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) which had campaigned on a platform of representing the lowest-paid workers and not being part of the ruling establishment. Its rivalry with NUM therefore contributed in a large way to the horrible events that were to unfold at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.
What followed next was a shock to the whole world. First, days before the massacre ten (10) people including two police officers were killed. Second and related to the above, the next day the police killed 34 miners reminiscent of days gone by under the minority white rule. This development was unthinkable. It happened just 18 years after the official end of apartheid. Nobody could have imagined such a horror in the post-apartheid SA in which the black majority has taken over the reins of power. But that did not stop the massacre taking place. Details of what exactly led to such unfortunate killings are still emerging.
Against such terrible developments were have seen endless massages of solidarity to those who have been affected by such events. What caught my attention most was the response from Botswana Congress Party Youth League (BCP-YL) relating to the second incident ÔÇô the Marikana massacre. The BCP youth league president, Dithapelo Keorapetse, was interviewed last week by Gabzfm news anchor, Bay Tsimane, who wanted to know their reaction of the events in South Africa. Without mincing his words, Keorapetse condemned in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the police on the very same people it is supposed to serve and protect. Such police brutality, according to him, was uncalled for more so that they were dealing with helpless workers. Effectively, he was saying that the police were to blame for the massacre.
My reaction was predictable. I was left disappointed. Honestly, it’s understandable when lay people ÔÇô like me and you – start making conclusions on a subject on the basis of modest information we have. After all our voice do not carry much weight in our society. But for an aspiring politician that he is, his conclusions at best demonstrated lack of foresight and imagination on his part and, by extension, the organisation he leads.
We should remember that his comments came the morning after the Marikana massacre. At that time, details of what actually transpired were just beginning to emerge. It was still sketchy ÔÇô as is still the case now ÔÇô and thus making it difficult to make an informed decision to fully apportion blame on anybody. Yes there was bloodshed but as leaders we expected them to act rationally on sensitive issues such as this one. That is, as political leaders they need to exercise caution before they comment. What I got from him was just sensationalism which neither help him nor our republic.
On a separate note, the BCPYL has been at it again. This time around the press release addressed the issue of Justice Tshosa’s resignation from the bench. All I could sense again was sensationalism at best. In the said press release, the BCPYL expressed disappointment in the manner in which the presidency handled the matter. Having satisfied themselves with the events surrounding Justice Tshosa’s case the youth league concluded that he was constructively dismissed from judgeship. His resignation was not a voluntary exercise as we have been made to believe. To them, the presidency had made things so difficult for Judge Tshosa that he had no choice but resign from the bench.
Chiefly, they cite the presidency’s intolerance for use of alcohol as key elements in the coerced exist of Judge Tshosa. As far as they are concerned the presidency dislikes alcohol and the fact that he was facing drunken driving and related charges might have influenced his decision. They also charge that the appointment of the tribunal by the president in line with Section 97(3) of the Constitution played an instrumental role in the resignation of Judge Tshosa. To them the timing of the appointment of this tribunal raised eyebrows more so that Judge Tshosa had appealed both the conviction and judgment at the High Court.
I found them guilty of the same offence with which they charged the presidency. They acted hastily and offered an ill-advised press release on a matter that they had little or no information on. As far as we know Justice Tshosa has not yet provided any reason whatsoever in relation to his departure. We are still to know the exact cause of his decision. In the meantime let’s remember that while embarking on the race to ‘breaking news’ we need to tread with caution lest we risk misleading the nation.
May the soul of those who lost their lives rest in peace.
Molefhe teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana
