And I mean it. You just have to mark my words. With President Ian Khama you can never say never. When it comes to our president’s decisions, anything goes. He may just postpone the general elections in October should the consultants engaged by his party inform him the BDP is destined to lose. I say this having not bothered to consult the law on what the president can or cannot do pertaining to elections. Khama has little regard for law and national expectations. With Khama, basing your arguments on law is just a waste of time because in Botswana, things are done mainly according to what or how Khama wants them done and not necessarily according to what the law prescribes. Even his party members have come out to ascertain this. Sadique Kebonang, who is BDP’s parliamentary candidate in Lobatse, wrote in the newspapers that Khama takes this country for his father’s estate. Just recently, Khama’s predecessor, Festus Mogae, told African presidents that Khama doesn’t respect the rule of law. It would even be laughable to base our arguments on principle and ethics because such do not exist in Khama’s way of life and leadership.
Khama has, and continues to make decisions that no one could ever imagine from a national leader. Khama continues to divide the nation with his arbitral and divisive decisions. So sickening is even how he continues to remind people that he is a paramount chief. It must be sickening to other chiefs for Khama to associate himself with them when he defiantly deviates from their core mandate of nation building. We have in abundance examples of decisions taken by Khama, much to the annoyance, shock and disbelief of the nation. In the midst of being suspected to have sanctioned the brutal killing of John Kalafatis, Khama went on to pardon, release from jail and reinstate the security agents who were committed to jail by the courts of law. It is not farfetched a thought to therefore suggest he may postpone the general elections to buy time for his party. He has done it before. Khama postponed the Francistown bye-election earlier this year on flimsy grounds, just because his party had no representative. Khama and his BDP are in panic mode.
This year’s general elections pose a real threat to their long standing rule. Never before had the BDP faced a serious and seemingly achievable threat of becoming an opposition party. At the beginning of the year, the BDP told the press that Khama would not be launching candidates. He had only planned to launch Guma Moyo and Tshekedi Khama. We now see him every day on national television crisscrossing the country and launching BDP parliamentary and council candidates.
That is a clear sign of how worried he is about the BDP’s fortunes in the upcoming elections. Khama has since dedicated more of his time towards campaigning for the BDP and spends less time on national duties. He cannot even spend more than a day outside the country on national duties. He has refused to attend the US/African leaders’ summit as he was held up with his party engagements. It was only this past Sunday that he flew out to Victoria Falls for a SADC heads of state meeting. He flew out on Sunday and came back the next day on Monday, just in time for his cabinet meeting with BDP executives. In his panic mode, Khama fails to draw a line between government and the BDP. He unashamedly ropes in public servants such as District Commissioners to prop up his political campaigns. His people are busy begging various institutions to invite Khama to their events in an effort to provide him opportunity to score political points. For the first time in the history of the BDP, they have engaged consultants from outside the country to help them win the elections at all costs, including rigging where possible.
The Khama administration can do anything. They may do something that will cause a national uproar and outrage so that Khama can have reason to postpone the general elections. All they need to do is incense the public and Khama will say the atmosphere is not conducive for holding the elections. Don’t be fooled by what he says, Khama loves power and he will do anything to remain in power. I have written here before that Khama may as well apply tactics that will ensure his continued stay in power when his term in office ends in 2018. You just need to look at how Khama is going all out to endear himself to the public. He gives people the impression he is bigger and better than his party. He sells himself to the public more than he does his party. It’s all a strategy.
Come 2018 and Khama may change the constitution to allow for direct election of president, knowing too well he has endeared himself to the nation and will stand a good chance to be directly retained to the presidency. Khama never loved this country or the BDP. Khama loves being in power and he will do anything to satisfy his love for power. Mark my words and don’t say I never warned you!
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