The High Court on Friday made a definitive ruling that continues to place the President beyond the reach of the law in a case in which BDP Secretary General, Gomolemo Motswaledi, sought redress with regard to his 60 day suspension from the party.
But the court failed to clear the President of the allegations levelled by Motswaledi against him, effectively questioning the President’s style of governance.
In his legal suit against the BDP, Khama and the chairperson of the Gaborone Central Constituency, Motswaledi accused Khama of abusing his power as party leader.
Motswaledi stated in his court papers that his suspension from the party was a strategy by Khama, who is associated with the A-Team, to neutralise the dominant Barata-Phathi faction inside the ruling party’s central committee in favour of the vanquished A-Team faction.
Most disturbingly, he said that Khama’s decision to suspend him was not motivated by any exceptional reasons but it driven by bad faith.
Motswaledi stated in his court papers that his feud with Khama dates back to 2007 when Khama opposed his candidacy for the position of secretary general. He also stated that in 2008 Khama thwarted his hopes of contesting the Serowe North constituency favouring his younger brother, Tshekedi Khama, to inherit it from him.
He said the President misled the nation in his statement, widely carried by the state media, in which Khama explained how he came to his decision to suspend Motswaledi.
More aspersions were also cast on Khama, when Motswaledi’s lawyer, Roland Sutherland, accused Khama of being a hypocrite for urging party cadres not to discuss party matters in public while it was he (Khama) who issued a press statement through his lawyers, Collins Newman & Co, which discussed the party’s internal matters.
However, in its ruling, and after listening to persuasive arguments of the applicant, the court failed to vindicate Khama, rather settling for the easy option of placing the President beyond the reach of the law by virtue of his being President.
