For Botswana, the new year begins exactly where the last one had ended – with president Masisi and his predecessor at each other’s throat.
Long before president Ian Khama left for South Africa, I publicly expressed an opinion that he should not leave Botswana. I reasoned that his supporters needed him here at home to continue holding the sky for them. After he left for into self-exile in South Africa I continued to say he should come back home to clear his name in court.
That view has now firmly changed. As have circumstances.
Based on public information about events at our judiciary, there is no guarantee that Khama will get a fair trial even if he to come back tomorrow morning.
Even then, that is only half the story.
More to the point, I think Khama should not voluntarily come back until he personally feels safe. Or at the very least unless there is a third party country, most preferably South Africa that can negotiate with Botswana authorities and get assurances and guarantees on his safety and also on the fairness of his trial(s).
Short of that, Khama should push the whole process to the wire and even fight extradition in the South African courts, if he has to.
Botswana Government continues to argue that its relations with the South African government are as good as ever.
The warrants of apprehension against Ian Khama will prove if Botswana government is spinning or not.
In the meantime, Khama has figured out and honed his public relations skills.
He has become adept at using those skills to single-handedly beat an entire state infrastructure.
Even before leaving for south Africa, he had long succeeded in eviscerating the power of an entire state.
Week in and week out he gives a media interview. He uses those to blast Botswana Government, president Mokgweetsi Masisi and the ruling Botswana democratic Party.
He paints Botswana government as a house engulfed by chaos.
He tells the world that under Masisi Botswana’s brand of democracy has become a sham.
He tells the world about Botswana’s ever growing corruption.
He tells the world that Masisi gives himself, his cronies and his family big state tenders and contracts.
Its funny that during the many years that he was in government he would go on and on for years without a media interview – save for a handful with international media.. He went for all that time without addressing a press conference.
When it comes to Masisi there are no blows barred.
He accuses his successor of gross incompetence.
For the first time I have heard Khama apologise has been when he sought forgiveness to Batswana for having saddled them and their country with Masisi. He says it is a mistake he wishes to correct.
Many of the calls on Ian Khama to come back home and face the charges against him now go beyond the crass.
During Ian Khama’s time as president when the editor of this newspaper, Outsa Mokone was charged with sedition, I had tried to convince journalist Edgar Tsimane not to flee the country. Tsimane was shocked by my persuasion.
He clearly thought of me as insensitive if not outright insane.
He wanted me to help him cross the border. But me with made it clear ty as well.
I can swear that Khama is thinking the same about people who are taking turns to say he must come back into the country.
These people are not providing any guarantees. They are just saying hoping they are right.
In such an instance it is better to allow Khama to follow his own instincts.
It cannot be enough to say the world is watching when it comes to somebody’s life.
Attracting Khama here, only for him to meet his demise however way would make the whole thing look like an organized trap.
Only a Khama who is alive would be of any use to anyone, including and especially his family and also his tribesmen.
Khama has been consistent that Botswana government is out to harass him. That all charges on him, starting with the P100 billion pula he was alleged to have stolen were trumped up.
And that the whole thing has degenerated into a witch-hunt not only against him, but other members of the Khama family too.
He has also been pointing to the state of the judiciary, that it is much more broken than ever before.
And that there is a lot of political meddling resulting in a lot of behind the scenes match-fixing within the judiciary.
These are not wild accusations made just by us the none-lawyers.
A High Court judge has also made the same insinuations – in writing.
At a national level the feud tells us something scarier; that the country’s institutions are imploding.
There is no doubt that Khama has a lot of sources inside the intelligence services.
These sources were behind his flight from Botswana just when Botswana government was planning to arrest him.
Not only that. He still commands a lot of respect among some Members of Parliament, including of the ruling party and even cabinet ministers.
He also clearly has access to a lot of classified information and top secrets inside government even as he is out of power and away in a foreign country.
The ongoing fight between Khama and President Masisi is turning the latter into a paranoid grievance politician.
He now sees a Khamarite enemy under every tree.
His government is in a gridlock. And the country has never been more divided.
The future is not as bright as we would have wished it to be.
Compliments of the New Season!
