In an ill-advised moment, a female Special Constable who until recently worked at the Gaborone West police station shot and posted to Facebook, a video of her plugging for an upcoming music show by a visiting Zimbabwean artist. Anybody else would probably not have attracted the required viewership. However, in the short period of time that she had been directing rush-hour traffic at Molapo Crossing intersection, “Babe Police” (BAEB – Fede Dintshan’ Facebook page) had become popular with motorists and garnered large social-media following.
It is likely that most of Babe Police’s fans wouldn’t have recognised her when she was wearing civvies, which possibly explains why she plugged for the show in her police uniform. Unfortunately for her, the latter was a huge blunder that ended up costing her a job that apparently pays relatively well nowadays. However, one too many police officers think that the punishment was far too harsh for what was basically a minor offence by an otherwise high-performing officer.
She was fired in June this year but if you rewind and fast-forward from that date, there are incidents that should have attracted even harsher punishment from the powers-that-be.
In February 2020, a video popped up on Facebook of three Botswana cabinet ministers in Kabo Morwaeng, Phildah Kereng and Karabo Gare attending a worship service led by Shepherd Bushiri in Pretoria, South Africa. A Malawian, Bushiri is one of the top purveyors of prosperity gospel, a pay-to-pray scam that was concocted in the 1970s in the United States and mostly targets black people.
Bushiri personally introduces the trio as cabinet ministers from Botswana. He prefaced the introductions by seeking the indulgence of the congregation “to recognise a great team from Botswana.” His Tumbuka tongue faltering on the pronunciation of Setswana names (“Minister Carbo” and “Assistant Minister Carle”) and some English words (“Minister of Tourlism”), Bushiri commends the new Botswana government for being on the right side of God.
“As we said last time, the Government they have now fears God and there are people who are determined to change their nation with their president,” he says pronouncing “determined” in the corrupted Tswana-medium-school way that would have riled former President Festus Mogae who once derided journalists for habitually mispronouncing this word as “de-tar-mined.”
Bushiri describes President Mokgweetsi Masisi as a “great man” and his ministers as “great people.” In the next breath, he makes prediction that, at least in the case of ATMs being bombed out of existence, could be coming true.
“In the next three years, Botswana will never be the same again,” the Malawian preacher says as the camera pans to an audience member waving a Botswana flag.
The context for the coded messages was as follows: Masisi’s predecessor, President Ian Khama, had taken a hard line against prosperity-gospel purveyors, among them Bushiri. He introduced a law that made it extremely difficult for prosperity gospel churches to do business in Botswana and set the all-powerful Directorate of Intelligence Services and Security on some of them.
A little over a year ago, at the time of this cross-border visit, Bushiri had been charged with theft, fraud and money laundering. Rape, including that of minors as young as 16, would be added later to the charge sheet.
In November 2020, Bushiri and his wife fled South Africa. It has been credibly alleged that the flight happened with the knowledge and acquiescence of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Malawi’s president, Lazarus Chakwera, paid a “state visit” to the country for the express purpose of smuggling the couple out of the country in the presidential jet. Bushiri is now safe back home and has re-established his church in Lilongwe, the Malawian capital city that Morwaeng visited. Considering what happened to Bushiri personally, a prediction that he had made at the beginning of 2020 (“it’s gonna be a grrrreat year!”) was indeed true.
Last Monday, Morwaeng posted to his Facebook page, a picture of him with Bushiri in what must be the latter’s office. The picture is captioned: “God be with you all. This past weekend I had a spiritual revival and renewal as I had time with my personal and family Prophet – major Prophet Shepherd Bushiri (Major 1) – in Lilongwe, Malawi. Shalom shalom shalom!” Now almost part of Setswana, “shalom” is Yiddish for “deep peace” and is used as salutation by Jewish people at a meeting or upon parting. The commentary that the post provoked shows that there is not deep peace but deep concern about Morwaeng fraternising with a man who is now a fugitive from South Africa law.
Morwaeng visit, as that he made to Pretoria in 2020 with two other ministers, is deeply problematic. While they visit Bushiri in their personal capacity and in their private time, these ministers carry with them the prestige that is a result of the executive offices they hold. Both these offices and the attendant prestige are a public good. They are introduced not just by their names but official titles as well. Clearly there is substantial area of overlap between their private lives and public roles and there seems to be no effort to separate the two. One very important question to be asked with regard to the latter is: who conveyed information about their public roles to Bushiri?
As ministers, the trio has taken an oath to uphold the rule of law and as important members of a globalised world, have responsibility to exercise such function cross-jurisdictionally. Bushiri’s flight strongly suggests that he wasn’t confident about beating the charges – as a matter of fact, his lawyers reportedly told him that the prosecution had built a watertight case and that the least amount of time he was facing in prison was 15 years. Upholding the law imposes moral duty to not fraternise with criminal suspects. If there is nothing wrong with doing so, then ministers can socialise with armed robbery suspects who are on bail. Actually, there is no difference between the latter and what the ministers in question are doing by keeping Bushiri’s company.
On account of the continuity that attends government business, successive ministers inherit custodianship of laws, policies and initiatives that were put in place before they came into office. In that regard, the three ministers are custodians of laws, policies and initiatives that were put in place during Khama’s time to blunt the predatory nature of prosperity gospel – especially Bushiri’s. However, their association with Bushiri amounts to marketing his controversial brand of Christianity.
Ministers are custodians of something else – the national brand. Some two decades ago, Botswana embarked on a prohibitively expensive exercise to develop and manage through a secretariat, the national brand. Given the position they hold in the country, ministers are custodians of this brand and have a responsibility to protect it. A minister who fraternises with a suspect accused of heinous crimes taints the national brand. Interestingly, what is happening with ministers in question wouldn’t happen in other countries.
Ironically, Bushiri is himself rehabilitating his own badly damaged brand by caulking cracks in it with the prestige of Botswana’s ministerial offices. For their part, the ministers are using this public good to legitimise the public standing of a fugitive from the law. In doing so, they fail to protect the sanctity of their own offices as well as to preserve the structural integrity of the Botswana brand. While the constitution guarantees them freedom of association, they don’t have the freedom to associate with anybody.
The contrast with the “Babe Police” matter is as astounding as it is sobering. The Botswana Police Service went to extreme lengths to protect its brand (as expressed by its uniform) over a minor issue that didn’t even include law-breaking. On the other hand, ministers are tarnishing the national brand with impunity by openly associating with a man accused of raping underage girls. He is probably innocent but there is a legal process that has to be followed to establish such innocence. More than anybody else, those who have taken an oath of office to uphold the rule of law should proactively support such process. That is probably not a fair standard but it is one that comes with the diplomatic passport covered with a profusion of “Kamuzu International Airport” date stamps, an Extension 5 mansion, chauffeured black Merc and all other Green-Book perks.
