From “taxing” new students to attempting “castration” kicks on male teachers to sentencing other teachers to death, student indiscipline across Botswana has reached epidemic proportions. Perhaps the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare overstated his case but there can be no denying that some impressionable young people will model their misconduct on what they see being displayed by some MPs on Btv.
Rakgare made that point in a question that made clear that he has made the connection between MP indiscipline and student indiscipline. He specifically stated that the telecasting of parliamentary debates was sowing seeds of errant misconduct among students. He added that MPs’ indiscipline had even become physical. With regard to the latter, he mentioned an incident in the last (end-of-year) session of parliament when some opposition MPs invaded both the Speaker’s chamber and office of the Gaborone Central MP, Tumisang Healy.
“They wanted to choke the Speaker,” said Rakgare who is also Mogoditshane MP.
When he got a chance to contribute to the debate, Healy said that the invaders barged into his office, tore off the cable cords from the “government’s” computer in order to disrupt his Zoom link and deny him a voice.
Takatokwane MP, Tshoganetso Leuwe, said that in his own house, he has taught his children to never say “O a yaka.” While western culture is tolerant of that expression’s equivalent (“you are lying”) in most Botswana indigenous cultures, its use is considered bad manners at best and insulting at worst – especially when used cross-generationally. In place of “O a yaka”, the MP said that his children use more polite language in the form of “o a fosa”, meaning “you are wrong.” Leuwe said that not too long ago, his children asked him why elderly people in parliament are in the habit of saying “O a yaka” to one another.
“This shows that we are setting a bad example,” the MP said.
Many more people beyond the Takatokwane MP are shocked. He said that as he travels around the country, some of the people he meets also complain about the coarse language that MPs use in parliament during debates.
“They actually quote incidents and name names of when so-and-so said this or so-and-so said that,” he said.
The Assistant Minister of Basic Education and Lentsweletau-Mmopane MP, Nnaniki Makwinja, said that some elderly people have been so repulsed by the misconduct of MPs that they no longer follow parliamentary debates on Btv or Radio Botswana.
“Our conduct as MPs leaves a lot to be desired,” she said.
With some elderly people having so boycotted Btv and Radio Botswana, Leuwe asked the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Kabo Morwaeng whether the government would consider discontinuing live broadcasts because of the misconduct by some MPs. It was Morwaeng who tabled the issue of MPs misbehaving in his final statement as parliament went into recess last Wednesday evening. Leuwe followed up with commentary that the broadcasts no longer serve the purposes they were introduced for in the first place.
“Shouldn’t we go back to Batswana and ask them whether we should continue with the live broadcasts?” asked Leuwe. “I am worried about the conduct of MPs in this parliament.”
The Opposition Whip, Motsamai Motsamai, felt that the issue should not have been raised in parliament but at the General Assembly, the MPs’ closed-door meeting. Rakgare interjected to say that this assembly itself is not spared the misconduct: “Le ko General Assembly le a re roga akere; yo mongwe o ne a re rogela batsadi maloba.”
While he didn’t name the culprit, the irony of Rakgare making this particular accusation was that in August last year, he was himself accused of doing the exact same thing. This was after he got into a ritualistic verbal spat with Mahalapye East MP, Yandani Boko.
“O bua eng wena?” Boko blurted out at Rakgare while the latter still held the virtual floor, meaning “What are you talking about?”
In the next breath, Rakgare was trying to caution Boko against using disrespectful language against the elderly and even-tempered Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse. At this point Boko asked of Rakgare in an angry voice: “Are you the class monitor?” The verbal spat ended prematurely (when the combatants’ microphones were remotely switched off on the instructions of the Speaker) but not before Boko could be heard accusing Rakgare of “insulting my parents.” The Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness and Boteti East MP, Sethomo Lelatisitswe, expressed dismay at the scene that had just unfolded by stating that “I have never seen anything like this.”
Rakgare also came under fire from the opposition for having, at some in the past, referred to Deputy Speaker, Pono Moatlhodi as a “seganka” – bully. Another version, which Jwaneng-Mabutsane MP, Mephato Reatile retailed and one that Rakgare disputed, was that he (Rakgare) had used an even stronger terms – “seganana” (a recalcitrant troublemaker) and “mmolai wa batho” (killer). Keen to rub it in, Reatile, added that Rakgare “insulted” Moatlhodi in front his children.” It is unclear whether by “children” he was referring to the Tonota MP’s biological children, who could have been watching the debate on Btv, or the clerks who assist the Speaker.
Interestingly, there should be no issue at this point about MPs behaving badly. Last year, when the winter session wound up, Sunday Standard raised this same issue with the Government Whip, Liakat Kablay and Opposition Whip, Motsamai. Both expressed disquiet about the misconduct of some MPs in their respective benches. They also revealed that members of the public had complained to them about this misconduct.
“This issue is very worrisome,” said Kablay, citing as examples of such worrisome conduct, the trading of insults on the chamber floor and fixating on minor issues of parliamentary procedure at the expense of debating real issues. “A small thing like a point of order can be nitpicked over for more than two hours.”
The Letlhakane-Lephepe MP said that the process of making laws requires sober and mature conduct by those undertaking such process and that the level of hostility, disinterest in official business and excessive playfulness was dispiriting to watch.
“Some ministers engage in this misconduct,” he added. “They use cellphones when they are live on air and you can actually hear them speaking on their cellphones while debates are in progress.”
Motsamai lamented that some opposition MPs “behaved like children.”
“As the Opposition Whip, I am very worried about this conduct, which occurs on a daily basis,” said the Gantsi South MP, adding that there are instances when he has attempted to help the Speaker restore order but adds that even he gets overwhelmed sometimes. “At the end of the day, the undesirable conduct lowers the dignity of the house.”
Motsamai was particularly concerned about the shouting matches, the excessive playfulness and general disorderly conduct.
Almost a year later, some MPs are being compared to children (students) whose misconduct has also become national crisis. “Some” is an important word to use because a majority of MPs conduct themselves properly. However, those that routinely don’t can turn the house upside down.
