Speakers during a political rally addressed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in Gabane on Saturday described President Lt. General Ian Khama as a worse dictator than Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
Batswana, they said, need freedom, which they can get by removing Khama and his regime from power.
“Mugabe le mo golega fela ga are sepe o mmapisa le tautona wa rona. (You just blame Mugabe for nothing; he is better dictator when compared to our president here.) Never has it happened in this country or any other that former presidents’ phones were bugged. Even ours are bugged,” said Major General Pius Mokgware, parliamentary candidate for Gabane- Mankgodi constituency.
He added that no one is free. He said he recently went to Lephepe and found herd men speaking in low tones and when he enquired, they told him they feared that Khama might hear them.
“Last week I was talking to a Minister who cautioned me to be vigilant in everything I do, everywhere I go. I told him I was and he said he did not drink anything from his fridge at his office. Not even water because he does not know how his death will come. We have been reliably informed that there is a hit list. I am in the list, so is Wynter Mmolotsi, Duma Boko, and Nehemiah Modubule among others. We are aware of this, and are ready to face the executors,” he said, to murmurs from his audience.
He said it is true that the elite in the Botswana Democratic Party are those that stashed P50 billions outside country. These, he said are those that keep winning government tenders-including arms of war.
Wynter Mmolotsi, the Francistown South Mp expressed how BDP’s leadership oppression manifested in the Friday Daily News where Mps who left BDP were advertised as having vacated their positions as Tonota South and Lentsweletau legislators just by virtue of their having crossed floors.
The same thing is however not applied to those Mps who crossed over to the BDP from BNF in Olebile Gaborone and Mephato Reatile.
Dictatorship, he said, also manifests when a good writer goes into the bad books of the president, just because she published a book that speaks a lot about BDP questionable actions.
Mmolotsi bemoaned bootlicking, corruption and nepotism that characterize the BDP.
“He does not want to select the next vice president because many of his bootlickers are cued for the post and he does not want to upset the status quo, lest he in the long run would not have anyone loyal to him. What government is this where a brother tells brother, ‘appoint me Minister for Wildlife and Tourism since we have wild animals and hotels, so that I take care of them? ” he lambasted.
He said that the government’s ideas on development are finished. That a total of P600m is to be used in Ipelegeneg and P178m in Tirelo Sechaba- all of which are temporary measures meant to address unemployment.
“There is a lot of money in government coffers; it’s only that there are no ideas to utilize the funds. Blankets won’t solve anything. Elect us so that we create employment. People are labelled destitute because of BDP’ programs; and this should end,” he said, adding that the government’s decision to hike BDF and Prisons Officers was informed by the fact that it loses many votes there. This has been the case for the past elections.
When launching Mokgware, UDC President, Duma Boko issued what he termed, ‘cautionary message’ in which he said the BDP should be cautioned that cheating ended with their Bulela Ditswe.
He said what the government agents did by breaking into his house in the wee hours of Friday was the end of their harassment on him. That intelligence experts both inside and outside of the country have advised him to advise the Agents that should they do him any harm in the future then they should expect a 77 times more as vengeance.
“I am very much aware that I am in people’s hit list. But let me caution that should I get killed perpetrators are going to suffer 77 times what I suffered. Oppressors should know they have to surrender to defeat as it is going to happen,” he said.
He added that once UDC is in power high officers like Isaac Kgosi of DIS are going to explain how they accumulated enough wealth to buy farms, buy shares and other riches within short period of time.
The rally was part of UDC candidates’ launch in the constituency.
