Mid-Week Sun 10th November 2011 has quoted, Mokgweetsi Masisi as having said ‘It is within government to take any action it deems proper and in the public interest, including dethroning any Kgosi that does not toe the line. Infact should such a Kgosi be seen to be frustrating government business, causing public chaos and rendering the country un-governable the state will not flinch, the most punitive action derecognize him’.
Masisi made these irresponsible barbaric remarks at a Kgotla meeting in Gerald Estate in Francistown. Masisi Went on to say ‘ The State wields power to derecognize any traditional leader regardless of his/her status, that is whether he became chief by birth or was elected to the house of chiefs.
Whilst Masisi’s boastful remarks about the state’s overwhelming power do hold, his other remarks however, needs to be taken seriously and challenged. He must come out in the open and tell the nation as to who amongst all Dikgosi in the country caused public chaos, has rendered the country un-governable and has incited violence. He must show proof by way of providing police reports about such chaos. Masisi is not the only one, other leaders have irresponsibly joined the hate crusade against some Dikgosi and have deliberately mislead the nation by portraying themselves as the good ones and fuelling hate behind the curtains. Acting like cowards they talk from the periphery rather than facing those Dikgosi head on in their own back yard. Acting like cowards they make noise like street bullies from a distance rather than engaging the Morafe and show Botho le Tlotla and hear what their worries and concerns are. Their fashion statement is we are a republic and that nobody is above the law, forgetting that some of them are wearing two hats trading as politicians and Kgosi contrary to constitutional provisions. The hate, the desperation and the deliberate hoodwinking of the nation by feeding it with false propaganda is not only unfortunate but it is also disgusting.
Against this background one might be compelled to ask ÔÇô ‘Is there desperation to sentence someone to life in prison or even impose some capital sentence?’ I mean statement such as ‘has rendered the country ungovernable and has caused public chaos’ should be probed further and the Minister must provide full answers. Such irresponsible comments have the propensity to divide the nation. Whilst they claim they are doing this in the best interest of the nation, they must be warned to be sincere and honest and should avoid playing cheap clumsy political stunts. Just because they are holding political office and power does not necessarily mean they own the country and that they love it more than others. They are just mere citizens like any other citizen and there is nothing so special about them other than being in politics. Off cause they can abuse and misuse their powers but live is a passage and no one leaves this planet earth alive. They can send their military contingence with guns as an attempt to fuel violence, but they must know live is a passage. No one ever thought Gadhafi could die like that? They can claim it is normal practice that towards festive season there would be up scale of joint operations, but they must know live is a passage and there is always tomorrow as there was yesterday. Some of them must not forget where, who and how they were raised and should not let politics cloud their judgment and turn against their own.
Politics is known to be a dirty game, but lying and trying to sell malicious propaganda is dangerous and our politicians must be cautioned against such filthy and demonic behavior. Whether they address Dikgosi in any form they deem appropriate or not, they must be advised that Charity, the sages have claimed, begins at home.
Batswana must equally be cautioned to be high on alert since there appears to be an evolving desperate pattern of toxic hate that is being spread by some irresponsible politicians masquerading as patriots of nation building. Politicians are there on account of a vote and public choice reigns supreme and not vice versa. Tribal decisions have to be respected irrespective of political pomposity and the prevailing abusive legislative framework needs to be quashed and best practice model of uni-cameralism should be adopted. Trying to make some tribal leader (s) look bad in the eyes of the public by always spreading false information is not only barbaric but is VERY DANGEROUS and if not checked can back fire terribly. Politicians must guard against undermining human intelligence because lies have short legs. It should be everyone’s responsibility to ensure that ethnic tensions are not fuelled by some self-serving irresponsible politicians. No Motswana irrespective of race, color and or creed wants that. No Kgosi in Botswana wants that, so the attempts made to malign other ethnic groupings in the country is not only unfortunate but has the hall mark to tear the whole nation apart all because of some irresponsible political thuggery. All these individuals have to be reminded openly and frankly that any attempt to abolish Chieftaincy that embodies the soul, culture, authority, socio-economic and political lives of the local people would not be easy. Politicians despite their abuse and cheap arrogance are aware of this fact and hence the tussle and fight over control of the Kgotla.
Since pre-colonial and in recent times, it is an undeniable fact that the chieftaincy institution has been subjected to the margins of the society. This hitherto most revered institution has since independence experienced worst turbulence and has been turned into a government instrument and subjected to abuse and exploitation by politicians. From a position of strength, the state has sought to co-opt and marginalize the chiefs within its bureaucratic mish-mash as mere auxiliaries.
The question is what can the Chiefs do? Do they just have to sit and watch and be subjected to abuse by the democratization rhetoric? Clearly this is related to their prerogatives in empowering and developing their communities and with the appreciation that good governance and development cannot be achieved through elective mechanisms only. While the institution serves to mediate between the past and the present by imaging itself as a ‘symbol of tradition’ it can at the same time strive to serve as an agency for modern projects.
The institution has gradually been weakened and an attempt to strengthen them within the local governance has only served to worsen the already worse situation. Even their power to control the Kgotla has now become a political contest where Dikgosi serve only as mobilisers of community to attend meetings. They do not even set the agenda for the meetings but receive directives channeled through the District Commissioner office. The notion that it has been strengthened is a fallacy if not a fantasy. Those politicians with limitations to comprehend with this simple analogy must ask their learned colleagues who have researched and published on the subject matter. They must seek expert advice on how the institution can be transformed and strengthened and may as a matter of urgency take refresher course (s) on Public Institutions and Democracy, introduction to Public Administration and Constitutional Law. They will benefit extensively from such trainings and will not be out of touch with reality and their illusions will not surface again.
The strengthening of the institution has only come about in the renaming of their social gathering house, House of Chiefs to Ntlo ya Dikgosi, where they do not even have the right to form a mere management committee. Bogosi can be transformed in the modern state, by ensuring that a robust effective uni-camerialism is undertaken by using best practice models.
Reforming them will entail addressing the evils of the past and using them to build the future. The abuse that Dikgosi have been subjected to under the disguise of nation building during the transitional period and post-independence can only be fixed now. By so doing Dikgosi would be able to develop a pathway that will allow them to adapt to the changing social environment (whatever that means and one can only hope it doesn’t mean condoning immorality). In their quest to reform they must be prepared for the tug of war since different people hold different views towards Bogosi and others perceive it as an archaic institution with no role to play in modern state.
They must ensure and reassure the politicians and critics that theirs is for a good course and it is not for ethnic divide but rather for nation building and it is for taking power to the people as opposed to situations where Ministers can force their way into a particular tribe’s Kgotla without respecting and following spirit of Botho, therisanyo and Tlotla and hide behind the notion that there is no law that declares certain territories to be no go areas for government officials. The Kgotla is not a freedom square and it has to be respected by government officials and even by politicians. In fact no Morafe in Botswana must tolerate such disrespect. Dikgosi should know that by organizing their communities does not imply that they are not Batswana with different citizenship. They should know politics is a dirty game and politicians derive pleasure by being economic with the truth and would always want to project themselves as some super normal beings by spreading malicious propaganda and blatant lies.
Thabo Lucas Seleke writes from Boston, MA, USA
