No one can accuse President Lt Gen Ian Khama of being trigger shy. Wherever there is a smell of gun powder, you can be sure that the career soldier turned politician is not far off.
No sooner had CAF suspended Togo from two editions of the Africa cup of nations than Botswana joined the fray on the side of Togo. CAF is punishing Togo for pulling out of the just ended AFCON tournament after their bus was riddled with bullets, leaving three of the team members dead.
The ink on the Togolese suspension letter had hardly dried when the Botswana government issued a statement on January 31st condemning the suspension of the Togolese team.
“The Government of Botswana strongly condemns the insensitivity of the CAF decision in suspending Togo from the Africa Cup games. The Government of Togo and the people of Togo have suffered an immeasurable loss which calls for a high degree of compassion and understanding from the African Football fraternity” read the statement.
On January 8th, two days before the tournament kicked off; the bus in which the Togolese team was travelling was sprayed with bullets as they entered Angola from the DRC at the oil rich Cabinda province. In the aftermath, the communications manager, the bus driver and the assistant coach lost their lives while many of the team members sustained serious emotional and physical injuries.
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec), who have been fighting for Cabinda’s independence, later said they had carried out the attack.
“This operation is only the start of a series of targeted actions that will continue in all the territory of Cabinda” they warned. The AFCON organizers insisted that it will go ahead despite threats of repeat attacks.
Following the attack Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France’s RMC radio that several players were “in a bad state” after the attack.
“We were machine-gunned, like dogs,” he said. “At the border with Angola – machine-gunned! I don’t know why. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets.” Subsequent reports indicate that the Togolese Minister of Sports, Christophe Tchao, made a formal request for his team to observe a three day mourning period and re-enter the tournament later, but CAF would have none of that.
Eventually the Togolese team pulled out of the tournament, and they were later disqualified. CAF released a statement to the effect that Togo had been disqualified, and the group B team essentially became a three team tournament, comprising Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
CAF would later suspend Togo from the next two editions of the AFCON. A statement released on Saturday said that the ban was imposed because of political interference in Togo’s national federation. Togo was also fined $50,000. At a joint news conference with FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Friday, CAF President Issa Hayatou defended the move.
On Monday the government of Botswana strongly condemned CAF’s decision, saying that the decision barring governments’ interference in the running of football does not apply in this case because governments ultimately have the responsibility for the welfare and security of their citizens.
Asked if the government contacted the Botswana Football Association before making the statement, BFA Public Relations Officer Phakamile Kraai said that he is not aware of any written correspondence between the BFA and government pertaining to the matter. He however referred The Telegraph to BFA Acting President Dintle Mphele.
The decision by the government of Botswana to comment on the standoff between CAF and Togo was met with mixed reactions from the sporting and political circles. While some maintain that Botswana is within its right to comment on international events as they unfold, others insist that the decision to spit in the face of an African soccer governing body will ultimately work in Botswana’s disadvantage.
“It is not advisable for a country like Botswana, which undoubtedly needs the patronage and support of both FIFA and CAF to make utterances that will ultimately sour relations with the soccer governing bodies and, by extension, lower the Zebras prospects of receiving aid and assistance” they said.
They also said that Botswana’s condemnation of CAF is the worst display of double standards, especially from a country that continues to flout FIFA rules and risking FIFA sanctions by stubbornly running what is by all means a politically motivated constituency league parallel to the set BFA structures.
The brainchild of President Ian Khama, the constituency league has caused consternation in the football fraternity, with BFA President David Fani saying that it should be scrapped because it has a negative impact on football development in the country.
“The tournament is taking up limited resources that can be used in a better way. It should either be scrapped or run under the BFA umbrella” he said at a BFA meet in Selibe Phikwe last year.
Fears of possible sanctions against Botswana are founded on the fact that FIFA abhors government interference in the running of football. The constituency league was introduced by government, without the input and blessing of the BFA, in a move that was widely considered to be political. But government has remained steadfast that the constituency league remains sustainable and can be used to promoter sports development in Botswana.
“The CAF decision negates the spirit of Football of bringing people together and the African spirit of unity and compassion. We call upon CAF to reverse its unreasonable decision to suspend Togo and we appeal to all CAF affiliates to apply pressure on the CAF governing body to revoke its decision” continued the Botswana government statement.
It remains to be seen whether CAF and FIFA will respond to the Botswana government tongue lashing.
