The above is what the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) carried as its headline on 17 March 2023 in which Botswana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Dr Lemogang Kwape is said to have refuted that a warrant of arrest has been issued against former President General Ian Khama. Minister Kwape is quoted to have said ‘We will have to engage the ministry of justice to find out the status of any arrest warrant, if any.’ BBC says the Minister ‘….spoke to the BBC on the sidelines of the just-concluded meeting of Commonwealth foreign affairs ministers in London.’ Minister Kwape’s denial of the existence of a warrant of arrest is a microcosm of how the President and his Ministers respond to serious national issues with such brazen contempt.
Just how could Minister Kwape muster the courage to feign ignorance about a widely publicised warrant of arrest on the former President which at some point was heavily contested in court? Minister Kwape with respect, rendered himself to be categorised as a joke of the year by denying the undeniable because the said warrant of arrest was issued by the Broadhurst Magistrate Court on 29 December 2022 and if my memory serves me well, it is still enforceable. I am not going to beat about the bush by saying there is no one in cabinet who is not aware that the said warrant has been issued. For Minister Kwape to deny in London that he is not aware of the warrant and that he will have to engage with the ministry of justice is typical of the calibre of Ministers Batswana are confronted with. That calibre is that of pitiful dishonesty accompanied by arrogance and contempt. Isn’t it fair to suggest they have taken cue from the President who once said he is a lelope (sycophant) only to turn around to deny it notwithstanding video evidence to that effect? There is no better example to demonstrate pitiful dishonesty on the part of Botswana’s top political leadership in government than the example of denying the lelope issue. The following are some of the examples of dishonesty from our political leadership at the highest levels.
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