The untimely passing of Mk and Cde Gomolemo Motswaledi has ushered in a new era in our politics. The national conscience shall never come to terms with the tragedy that has befallen our country. In the mist of our sorrow, the tears of our people shall fuel our quest for the attainment of the principles and ideals that Motswaledi lived for; the principles of genuine democracy that affords every individual a fair opportunity to achieve his best and a transparent, non-corrupt government accountable to the rule of law and the will of its people.
The passing of our leader, Mk Motswaledi, presents our people with a difficult and yet unavoidable question of whether our systems of government are designed to serve the interests of our people or are whether they serve a few ruling elites.Our pain over the demise of our leader evokes questions of trust over the security organs of our country as presently run under the regime of the BDP.
As doubt and confusion permeates our political our air, we observe with disdain the ‘business-as-usual’ and cavalier approach that the present regime often affords the problems that are besieging the country, the problems which Cde Motswaledi fought for in his short but successful political career. Sir G, fought against the rule of a man, the rule by fear that president Ian Khama is synonymous with. Whiilst he was at the BDP, Gomolemo Motswaledi sought to restore sanity and the rule of law and democracy in the Ian Khama led BDP, a move which saw him being unceremoniously expelled from the party two months to the 2009 general elections.
His death, two months to the decisive 2014 general elections, cannot be treated as an isolated and unsuspicious act of nature taking it’s course. We are aware that president Khama nurtures a deep-rooted hatred for MK Motswaledi and the principles he stood for. The Course of Freedom Botswana is off the democratic course. The present regime has eroded all known democratic ideals that this country has known. However, even in the mist of our pain at the passing of our leader, we gather strength in the saying that ‘one cannot destroy a bush by cutting the tallest trees.’ The course of freedom shall not be halted, and on the contrary, it shall persists even with more vigour and determination. The ideals that Motswaledi lived for shall remain embedded in our hearts and shall always define the course of our politics.
In our pain, we shall never loose focus of the challenges faced by our society,; the challenge of unfair unequal distribution of our country’s natural resources that has seen communities in the Okavango region become spectators as a few local elites with their foreign friends unfairly appropriate to themselves huge chunks of natural resources to themselves at the expense of the majority, the challenge of massive corruption levels that has become a signature of the Khama presidency, the challenge of poverty that has reduced our elders in rural areas to be beggars at the sight of president Khama. Just like our departed leader, we shall continue with even more resolveour calls for an inclusive economy and a transparent government that respects the rule of law and democratic principles. We demand, as Gomolemo Motswaledi did, and end to the rule of a man in the form of Ian Khama and a return to the rule of law.The reign of president Khama and his dominance over government institutions such as the DCEC, DIS, the police and the military must be brought to an end and the rule of law must be reinstated.
This is what Cde Motswaledi lived for and cherished, and we shall continue our struggle along this course. Botswana was not meant to be a monarchy, and presidential directives can never take precedence over the written laws of the land as is the current state. Khama has turned himself into an unaccountable monarch presiding over desperate subjects. In this regard, we shall continue to call for an amendment of our constitution to reduce the powers of the presidency of Botswana and subject it to proper systems of checks and balances according to the law.
Erosion of confidence in the State Security Agencies Our memory is still fresh with how in the past, the current regime had eliminated what they termed undesirable elements through extra-judicial killings.Graphic details of how John Kalafatis was executed by state security agents are still vivid in our memory. The subsequent pardon extended to John Kalafatis killers rendered president Khama an accomplice in the death of that innocent man. This state of affairs has eroded our trust over a government-led investigation into Gomolemo Motswaledi’s death. Our security organs cannot be trusted to stand up against the dictates of their political masters.In this regard, we support fully an independent investigation into the purported car accident that took our leader’s life.
It is the state of affairs we find ourselves in, where the president has taken control of institutions such as the police, the DCEC,DIS and the military Intelligence which speaks to us and make us refuse to believe that the present government can conduct a fair investigation. We have heard of allegations of existence of hit-list. Until the contrary is proved by a transparent investigation, we will not accept that Mk Motswaledi’s young life has been brought to an end by an act of God. He was a son of God. As the youths of the UDC, we refuse to accept that it is sunset for Mk Motswaledi. The sun cannot set at the break of dawn for such a young vibrant and committed servant of our people.
Until evidence is produced, we call on our people to treat the death of Gomolemo Motswaledi as consistent with acts of criminality famous with African dictatorships. The Khama regime has prepared its bed, and it must accept responsibility for the erosion of our trust and the suspicions of foul play that currently persists as regard Sir G’s death. To demonstarate our misgivings with the current state of affairs, we shall intensify our campaigns against the current regime by holding massive demonstrations and public rallies in the whole country. We call on our youth ffrom all the political divide to participate actively in the unfolding era by availing themselves and participating in these demonstrations.
We are setting up a Strategy Team which will inform and guide our campaigns. We call on members of the civil society to speak out against these blatant injustices and declining state of affairs in our country. We shall approach progressive civil society organisations with a view of devicing a centralised all inclusive campaign mechanisms to put pressure on the ruling regime to effect the long overdue democratic changes that the nation craves. Lastly, we convey our deepest condolences to the family of Mk Motswaledi and we thank them for having availed their son to the service of this great nation.
