The visit to Serowe, was, at least on the face of it, a routine visit by a Head of State to a village in the Central District Council to stand with one of his own during what was no doubt a difficult time.
But in the end there was nothing routine about the visit.
A few days earlier arsonists had struck at the home of Minister Kgotla Autlwetse.
Thankfully nobody was hurt.
The nation was united in shock and anger. This is not us, it is not our way, Batswana said loudly.
While the house did not burn down, one of the minister’s cars was totally set.
A press release had been issued by Office of the President condemning the entire saga.
Consequent to that another announcement had been made that the President would visit Serowe to go and console Kgotla Autlwetse and his family.
Tragically, what was supposed to be a private visit to the family was allowed to degenerate into something akin to a political rally.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi is the President of the entire Republic of Botswana – every square inch of the republic. And is lawfully recognized as such.
Every Motswana, including those that do not agree with him look up to him as a symbol of unity – as their president too.
All Batswana are right to pay attention and in great detail to all his public statements.
His social media defenders like to talk of Botswana as a sovereign republic.
They are right.
But when they see the president behaving like he is not a president of any part in the country, they should must remind him that he is wrong.
Every square inch of the country has one State President.
And there is only one president at a time.
We have always known that the president was allowing his fight with former president Ian Khama to distract him from his core duties.
Yet we never thought he would act in a way that would overnight turn Serowe into a central focus of his presidency.
Why is Masisi treating Serowe like it was some renegade territory?
All of a sudden Serowe now seems to be the one place dictating Botswana’s public discourse – in a way significantly bigger than at any one time when Seretse Khama, Festus Mogae and Ian Khama – all of them from Serowe were in power.
This is grossly unfortunate. The president is missing a big opportunity to create a lasting legacy.
The president’s visit to Serowe was wrong in many fronts.
The burning of Autlwetse’s house was a horrific crime.
But it was just that, a crime that needed not the attention of the State President but law enforcement agencies.
The press release that the Office of the President issued was doubly wrong.
Across the country houses get burnt every other day by criminals.
Will the Office of the President be issuing out a press release every time an arsonist strikes?
No, that should not be the case.
Will the president be visiting victims every time a house is burnt?
We hope not.
The president arrived in Serowe surrounded by a small army that included members of the Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Police Service and the intelligence services.
He had a huge convoy following him around.
There was at least one ambulance in the convoy. And as the convoy rumbled across the dusty streets of Serowe it became abundantly clear that the convoy was actually much bigger than that of the American president when he travels abroad.
That too left an indelible mark in the minds of many.
An impression that has remained etched on many people’s minds, including those that are much more sympathetic to the president is that he treats Serowe like some kind of enemy territory.
That too is wrong.
All these impressions were not incidental. Much worse they were not subtle but saber-rattling.
They were carefully choreographed to drive home a message that the president was up against some dark forces fighting him and his government and using Serowe as their base – a kind of fortress.
Psychologically this plays into the hands of Ian Khama, who regards Serowe not just as his backyard but fiefdom too.
This week an announcement was made by Serowe tribal leaders that henceforth Masisi is banned from addressing Kgotla meetings across areas under Serowe.
This is insane.
But it was predictable. We could see it coming. And Masisi should take his share of the blame for inadvertently facilitating it by playing up Serowe.
The leaders of Serowe now feel buoyant.
Politically, Masisi should consider Serowe permanently lost. It is hard to see how him or his party can reclaim Serowe after events of the last two months.
In the 2014 General elections of all the Members of Parliament Kgotla Autlwetse got the highest number of votes across the entire political spectrum.
In 2019 he lost, only getting into parliament under specially elected dispensation.
The die has been cast.
Need we say more?
The Central District is very large and administratively clumsy.
There is no reason why for example my home village, Tonota is still run from Serowe.
But as per the decree of Serowe leaders, the president cannot even visit Tonota.
Personally I can’t be part of such a decision.
By now Tonota should have long been weaned from the orbit of Serowe.
Tonota should have long become a full district because it meets all the criteria.
There is no reason why my Kgosi for example should be reporting to some renegade Kgosi in Serowe, with whom they have absolutely no relationship.
There is no reason why for example my Kgosi cannot be draped in a leopard skin in his traditions, if his people so wish.
These are the issues that are very dear to the people of Tonota.
They are also the issues that a serious government in Gaborone should be soberly delivering on.
Instead we now see the president creating Serowe as some kind of a bogeyman.
It is counter-productive, divisive and potentially self-defeating.
