Former Minister Ramadeluka Seretse gestured towards my shirt cuffs: “You see those gold cuff links you have on, they had to go through a lot of firestorms and pressure to turn out that beautiful”.
For the past eight months, Seretse’s political career has been a series of mishaps that vaulted him from one firestorm to another. When a cabinet minister is in decline, he turns into an accident black spot. Everything goes wrong. He cops the blame for anything that happens anywhere in his vicinity. Every word he utters becomes a hostage to fortune.
I had an off the record chat with the former minister two weeks ago. So far, his what-does-not-kill-you-only-makes-you-strong philosophy seems to be helping him survive his firestorms in a better fettle than might be expected.
Seretse shocked Botswana when he announced his resignation Monday evening. He did not give reasons, his fall however can be tracked by a series of newspaper headlines spanning the past eight months. In one of his responses, he complained that, “what we have witnessed is a trial by media on the one hand, and on the other, an extreme case of abuse of Parliamentary privilege by Mr. Saleshando, used as a springboard to launch unsubstantiated gossip, rumor-mongering and malicious attacks on my integrity.”
By rumor-mongering, the former minister was referring to reports linking him to RFT, a company he founded and then went on to win contacts and tenders under his ministry. Seretse told the media that he formed the company before he became Minister and he would not quit it. The company was involved in selling television sets, and then later moved to IT equipment, where it got business from government. However, it is in the security and defence business that the company has made its mark, subcontracted by companies that won big contracts from the government’s security organs under his ministry.
Seretse tried to stop the blather of his critics with the lofty declaration that “the current Directors and Management of RFT have, of their own volition, and without compulsion from any external party, written to the Directorate of Economic Crime and Corruption (“DCEC”), requesting that an investigation be conducted into their affairs.” His insistence that the DCEC be allowed to investigate the allegations against him might have been sensible, but it was greeted with the instant ridicule that attends any statement made by a politician when his integrity has been gutted.
His case was not helped by the fact that the DCEC was a department under his ministry and its head, Rose Seretse is married to the former minister’s cousin. Minister Seretse’s detractors simply joined the dots and a sinister chutzpah emerged: The stage had been set for a theatre of smoke and mirrors to cover up corruption.
For those who have no confidence in the independence of our institutions ÔÇô and there are many- the DCEC findings that there might be a case of conflict of interest against Seretse came as a shock.
The Seretse name has always loomed large in Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and national politics. In addition to his late father, Lenyeletse Seretse, who was once Vice President of Botswana, his uncle Sir Seretse Khama was the first president of Botswana and his cousin is the current president of the country. It’s fair to say without the name, Seretse would not be where he is. Family ties, however, have not always been helpful. There is a strong sense that he is caught in the cross fire between Khama and his enemies. So even with his career hanging on a shredding thread – he was this week dangling over the chasm of being sacked before his case is registered with the courts tomorrow (Wednesday)- there were still some doubting Thomases who expected him to bring his influence to bear on the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which falls under his portfolio responsibilities. Others were convinced that his cousin would close ranks around the embattled former minister. It is hardly surprising that Botswana reacted with shock as Seretse’s announced Monday evening that he will be stepping down.
Seretse may not have found the philosopher’s stone that makes gold from base metals, but his restraint from interfering with due process may go a long way in restoring Botswana’s confidence in the independence of its public institutions.
