The Botswana National Front (BNF) strongly condemns the retaining of the South African Advocate Gerrie Nel by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This is a clear vote of no confidence on the abilities of citizen lawyers and also a danger to national security. It is embarrassing that after decades of training legal practitioners in the country with public resources, the Botswana government finds it appropriate to import legal services from outside the country when there are many citizen legal practitioners who can competently provide the services. At a time when there are calls for citizen empowerment, it is manifestly clear that the government is paying lip service to the policy on citizen empowerment as it lacks confidence on its own personnel at the DPP and in the private sector. Local lawyers have proved themselves capable of providing quality service as they have led in many high profile cases.
The cost implications of importing Mr Nel’s services, at a time when the country’s economy is strained, does not make sense. The BNF notes that currently there are lots of law graduates who are unemployed on account of lack of funds by the Attorney General. It is therefore inexplicable that the government would rather elect to channel funds outside the country instead of empowering citizen attorneys so that they can absorb these young graduates. The only explanation that can be deduced from this decision can be that the government does not have confidence in the abilities of citizen attorneys, for some unknown reason. And further embarrassingly, Nel is employed by the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government to further humiliate and tarnish the image of former President, Seretse Khama Ian Khama and former DIS Director General Isaac Kgosi, who are accused of stealing an apparently non-existent P100 billion at the Bank of Botswana.
The BNF is appalled by the engagement of Mr Nel, a known activist of the white supremacist organisation in South Africa called Afri-Forum. The BNF is also embarrassed to note that the BDP is even undermining the African National Congress whose members were subjected to inhuman and cruel treatment by this pro-apartheid organisation. This is an unforgivable provocation to the ANC government and an unnecessary diplomatic row with South Africa. Further, National Security considerations militate against the involvement of foreign elements, especially the involvement of activists of racist organisations, in our local politics. The prosecution of Miss Wilhelmina Maswabi (Butterfly) has proved to be a hot potato and implicate a lot of state institutions including our reserve bank and intelligence organs. It is therefore reckless and treasonous for the government to invite foreigners to mingle and take active part in a case which raise national security issues. This move potentially places Mr Nel in a position where he has direct access to state secrets. The BNF Social Democratic Programme and other several policy documents have long preached accountability and transparency in the country’s public institutions. “To ensure greater transparency and accountability, the BNF government shall pass laws on the Freedom of Information Bill and the Declaration of Assets by MPs and top officials and join the African Peer Mechanism. Only when political parties, institutions of civil society and the media are given access to information can they play their role as watchdogs of democracy”. The media and civil society must condemn such engagements and incidents, despite having limited access to information.
The BNF therefore, demands that the Director of Public Prosecutions, with immediate effect, terminates the mandate it has given to Mr Nel and employ the services of citizen lawyers who are competent to carry out the same assignment. By doing so, this will show that calls for citizen empowerment were not just campaigning stunts by the ruling BDP. The BNF 1999 manifesto has long provided a lasting solution, ”We cannot deal with the serious problems facing Botswana unless and until we change the government”. This is why the BNF is in full support of UDC to effect this change of government.
Justin Hunyepa is BNF Publicity and information Secretary