Currently there are issues around Khama’s security detail. As things stand, the former president has two sets of security, one private and another provided by the state. There are questions arising on why and what the private security is doing. And what are the pressing issues that have compelled the former president to settle for this arrangement.
A look at the history of General Khama’s security detail while still at BDF reveals something very interesting. The most notable has been what is known as the Republican Guard. This was also known as the commander’s escort.
The name was derived from what was Saddam Hussain’s security detail while he remained as president of Iraq. The Republican Guard of Iraq was a formidable force and was equally unbreakable. They were well trained and sophisticated by all measure.
At the end of the Gulf War also known as Operation Desert Storm, General Khama chose to name his security detail after the Republican Guard of Saddam Al Tikriti Hussain. General Khama’s security was marked by a special set of uniform; it was all black.
The head of this security detail was Captain Kgosi and his second in command was Lieutenant Olopeng. The trio has come a long way back. One distinctive mark of this team was physical fitness. All of them were highly athletic and the selection was of high standard.
When the general was out on field trip which usually occurred at the end of the year in November, the team was further reinforced by other soldiers from other units. The inclusion of any soldier to the “Republican Guard” was exclusively the preserve of Isaac Kgosi.
No one needed to have studied economics to realise that this was the most expensive unit to run. Most of the cost went to feeding and transportation. The quality of their food was hotel grade and they were always given priority in the allocation of transport and logistics,
General Khama’s security detail far exceeded that of the state president who was QKJ Masire at the time. The man gave himself a superman status and no one could question his actions. In any case, he did in many ways exhibit tendencies of insubordination to the commander-in-chief.
For those who were present while he served as General Merafhe’s deputy, his escort team was usually three times more than that of his principal. An incident in Francistown that defined him as the main man in the defence force was the level of security around him.
While he visited Francistown in 1988, General Khama ordered four American made Cadillac V150 armoured vehicles to become part of his security detail. The four vehicles were each armed with a 76mm gunship and also carrying a general purpose machine gun (GPMG).
Half of the strength of this security detail was only given to President Masire on occasions where there had been military raids by the South African apartheid forces. And occurred frequently in those years.
But what informs the size of a security detail? It is the level of threat that has been perceived and assessed by those with the responsibility of a particular VIP. Unfortunately for General Khama, he always inflated his security detail and this reflected a lot on issues of personal ego.
There is absolutely no common sense in getting a huge security detail for the commander and a smaller one for the commander-in-chief. This defeats logic but unfortunately this has always been something that defines General Khama’s approach to his personal security.
It still further defeats logic to have a former president pay for his private security while government has the obligation to do the same. Both of these security details are armed and it has become obvious that they are not working in concert.
This can be described as a motion of no confidence on the government that is mandated to protect him. In fact the firearms that his private security is using must have their licenses revoked and taken into state armouries since they were improperly licensed.
Khama has always come out as a paranoid enigmatic individual who always wants to be regarded as that superman who defies even the natural essence of gravity. And when he is not seen in that prism of superman context, his ego gets bruised.
Khama has always come out as a paranoid individual even at the time he was president. He is a man who conceals his fears by inflating security around him. He makes up what is devoid of his persona by having a host of security personnel around him.
This is a man of contradictions. This is the same man who used to travel from State House to SSKB in his private Range Rover with only three escorts while he remained at the driving seat. I personally think this was just a public relations stunt, while the real security was concealed in several unmarked vehicles.
Those close to the former president should advise him to tone down and accept that his security is the preserve of the state security apparatus. There cannot be two security details around the same objective without agreeable terms and conditions. Should anything happen to him, it is the state that has to account to the public.
Having been in the military at the level he has been, Khama should understand that it is the sole responsibility of the secret service to plan and conduct his security. He entirely remains “property of the state” until the day his creator decides otherwise.
A good example that General Khama needs to reflect on is the Bill Clinton case with his security detail. After he became president, Clinton used to be seen doing his morning runs on Pennsylvania Avenue which runs past the White House. The secret service had to prevail over his security compromising efforts around his exercise routine. They stopped the daily activities.
Now, the man who has always wanted to be seen as an elusive character has disappeared into neighbouring South Africa. Whatever happens to him wherever he may be hiding, the nation will direct questions at the state which has been given the responsibility to take care of him.
