Shakawe: President Ian Khama has given Shakawe Kgosi Kea Lempadi an undisclosed amount of cash at a Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) rally aimed at officially welcoming Member of Parliament for the area Bagalatia Arone.
While The Telegraph had not established how much the President donated to Lempadi, the traditional leader described it as something enough to buy a goat. Khama said he has already pledged a football kit for a team that will win in the Independence Day tournament.
Lempadi had initially challenged the President to contribute to the Independence celebrations in the village since he is now a ‘resident.’
Lempadi must have been making reference to the fact that Khama owns some tourism resorts in the area and frequently visits the area.
“The chief is on point. Yes you all know I am now a resident. You know that as a resident I have equal rights just like you. Who knows, I might even challenge other candidates here in the 2019 general elections,” said Khama.
When welcoming Arone into the BDP fold, Khama said the former is not a newcomer to the BDP because he has always been their member in spirit.
Addressing multitudes of people who had come to witness the launch of Arone at the weekend, Khama said the MP is an intelligent person who will adds value, not only to the BDP fold but to the people of Okavango and the country as a whole. Khama said during his stay at Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Arone was misplaced as he was surrounded by people whose mental power was far from matching his.
“No amount of words can explain just how happy I am to have this gentleman under the BDP wing. He really is a good catch. There is no way that he could have lasted at the BCP, considering the party has long died a silent death,” Khama said.
He added; “As we speak they only have two MPs in parliament. How on earth do you intend to rule with two MPs in a parliament that has 61 MPs? That’s highly unlikely, and so they must just forget and admit defeat.”
He noted that opposition has a tendency of misleading people with fabricated stories.
Just recently the BCP through its Vice President went out and misled people into believing that I own the ferry at Mohembo boat station and that I have rented it out to the CTO and thereby deliberately delaying the construction of Mohembo bridge,” said Khama.
Khama also likened the BCP leader to Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying the two have a history of uttering untruths and are very manipulative and contradictory.
“They have the same character. They are birds of the same feather who always tell lies but never excel. Trump had previously said President Barrack Obama is an outcast. Just recently he retracted his statement and now says he believes Obama was born in the U.S,” said Khama.
He added that “So if the BCP believes the ferry belongs to me, then I challenge them to give it to me because very soon a contractor will be on site for the construction of Mohembo Bridge. I will see where else to take the ferry as it has literally been given to me by the BCP.”
He said he never regards opposition members as enemies, but a bunch of people who have not seen the light.
Khama refuted a statement earlier by Shakawe chief Kea Lempadi advising Arone that politics is a dirty game. Instead Khama said politics only becomes dirty when played rough, adding that at the BDP they are enjoying it as it has proved to be a fair game.
