People who know me will attest to the fact that I am a slow person. I walk, think and speak slowly. And as a result of the slow pace at which I do things, I always try as much as possible to listen to people when they discuss pertinent national issues so that I can learn from them as well as move a step closer to them. I listen to the different radio stations that we have just to have an idea of how different people analyze different issues. I read newspapers and any other material that I believe can assist me to move closer to the level of gifted members of our society who have the ability to think and act swiftly.
Unfortunately, I sometimes get confused when I listen to our leaders (political and traditional) or read their comments on different issues confronting us as a nation. I sometimes wonder as to whether my confusion can be attributed to the fact that I am a slow learner or to the conflicting messages that we get from our leaders. And I am usually tempted to believe that the latter carries more weight than the former.
When delivering his state of the nation address last week, President Khama reminded us of the need to practice and uphold the value of Botho. He stated that, “As the political leadership we have a special responsibility to not only give direction but also to lead by example; practicing the human values, as epitomized by Botho, which we preach. When speaking to the public we should, for example, maintain our own dignity by refraining from resorting to insults and abusive language.” These are good words spoken by a national leader, who unfortunately, is very reluctant to practice what he preaches.
It seems like the president wants us to do what he tells us to do but ignore what he does. As some unscrupulous priests usually put it, “Do what I tell you to do and not what I do.” Otherwise, how can we explain the manner in which the president used a derogatory word to address an expatriate officer at a Kgotla meeting in Molepolole a few days before presenting his speech to parliament?
Some misguided and narrow minded members of the BDP who are blinded by sycophancy tell us that the president was simply joking. They even went further to force Gabz FM to apologize to the president and his party for the manner in which some listeners responded to his politically incorrect statement. Is the BDP telling us that it is right for the president to urge citizens to refrain from using abusive language when he does the exact opposite? The BDP seems to be teaching us that there is nothing wrong with powerless and defenseless public officers being humiliated in public as long as it is done by President Khama. The message given by President Khama on Botho and the one given by his party are not in harmony and are confusing me.
Another issue that confuses me is the verbal abuse that a BTv cameraman is said to have been subjected to by Vice President Merafhe at a BHC ceremony in Mahalapye two weeks ago. The main crime that the cameraman is said to have committed is that of focusing on the face of the VP as he was just about to start delivering his keynote address. I wonder how the poor cameraman was expected to cover the VP’s address without showing his (Merafhe’s) face.
The VP has always enjoyed the attention and coverage given to him by BTv. He once bragged and told the nation that they can never allow anyone to steal the limelight from them as leaders of our republic. So, what has changed so suddenly? That a defenseless junior public officer can just be scolded and belittled for giving the VP the limelight that he craves really confuses me.
What is even more confusing to me is the statement that the VP is alleged to have made with regards to how decisions are made at BTv headquarters. He is quoted saying that, “I am aware that you are controlled by certain people at the station who tell you which clip to show and which one not to show. Batswana are a nation full of gossip and jealousy and to them it is just a social pastime. But you need to know that your television station is doing a disservice to this nation. I don’t care what you say or what your supervisors would say.”
Surely, these are the words of an angry statesman. He is not happy with the manner in which BTv is used or abused by those in leadership positions. Is he only realizing now that things are not done properly at the television station? He is one of the people who have constantly dismissed as unfounded complaints by leaders of different trade unions and opposition political parties on the manner in which the national broadcaster is abused. And as the second in command, is he telling us that he has no power to ensure that BTv does what it is supposed to do?
But if there is an issue which is causing so much confusion for me is the impending case to the High Court by Kgosi Kgafela II in which he wants the constitution of our beloved republic to be repealed because, to him, it is a “fraud document.” Kgosi Kgafela is taking the issue of the constitution to an entity (High Court) established by the same document that he wants repealed. In other words, he is seeking an audience with a “fraud entity” established by a “fraud document.”
The fundamental rights and freedoms that Kgafela is exercising and enjoying by challenging the legality of the constitution are enshrined in the very same document that he rejects as a fraud. He wants the judges appointed using the “fraud constitution” to tell the nation and the entire world that everything that they have been doing is illegal, starting with the manner in which they are appointed and the powers that they exercise when interpreting the law.
The more I read stories about this impending case and the letters that Kgafela writes to our political and administrative leaders, the more I get confused. I am struggling to understand what Kgafela is trying to achieve because there are many contradictions in the manner in which he intends to proceed with the case.
Certainly, my confusion on the three issues that I have discussed above has very little or nothing to do with the fact that I am not a Lawyer or that I am a slow learner. Rather, it has more to do with the leadership deficit that this country is currently experiencing. Our leaders are obsessed with giving us conflicting messages. Sadly, they never bother about the consequences of their politically incorrect statements irrespective of how divisive and counter-productive the same may be.
*Dr Mothusi teaches Public administration at the University of Botswana
