I was in Maun two weeks ago attending a meeting convened by Ngamiland butchery owners. Batawana paramount chief, Kgosi Tawana Moremi, who is also Member of Parliament for Maun West, was at the same meeting.
I phoned him after the meeting, asking him to join me for dinner at Maun Lodge so we could have a chat. Unfortunately, by the time I reached him, he had just landed at Sir Seretse Khama airport, having taken a 5pm flight to Gaborone immediately after the meeting.
As it emerged, he had to travel to Malawi on an official trip the next day. He however promised to meet me once back from Malawi. And so this past Saturday we met finally.
From the restaurant where I find him, we drive off to the parliamentary village and then enter his rented car for a drive around the city. We drive around Gaborone for three hours, discussing a lot of issues ÔÇô his issues.
I had only wanted to ask him about his alleged defection back to the BDP, but it turned out that Tawana has plenty to get off his chest.
As we speak, he comes across as a man carrying heavy challenges in his personal life, a man on the brink of an emotional breakdown even. My presence, it appears, provides him an outlet to unburden.
We start off with his political life. Even though Tawana seems bewildered at the future of opposition politics, nothing has changed his views on the ruling BDP. He doesn’t regret leaving the BDP because as far as he is concerned, the party is still the same as he had left it. Perhaps the only thing that has changed ever since he left the BDP is his personal circumstances. Tawana used to operate butcheries at Choppies supermarkets in Maun but the chain store terminated the contract he had with them.
Was the axing of the contract political, linked to his defection from the BDP? Tawana says the only reason given was that Choppies was listing on the stock exchange and the listing would presumably complicate the deal he had with them. As if that was not enough, his wife filed for divorce.
He makes it clear to me that he understands why people would say he had applied to go back to the BDP. This he says was because after what has been happening in his life lately, he felt he needed time off from politics, needed to go somewhere to get some ‘fresh air’ and introspect.
It was with this view that he approached some people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recommend him for an ambassadorial post after he learnt of an existing vacancy in Mozambique. As far as he is concerned, his overtures were made to the government and not necessarily the BDP. He however says he was advised that for him to make a better candidate for the post, he may have to rejoin the BDP as it has become the norm that ambassadorial postings are used to reward ruling party loyalists. He says he has not heard from President Khama, who is the appointing authority, ever since he made his request.
Tawana says he is not so sure whether relocating from Botswana is a good decision afterall, as he wants to be closer to his son who is starting secondary school next year. He also feels his intended move might be seen as a sign of cowardice and failure in the wake of the crisis currently besieging the beef industry in the Maun area.
Further, Tawana says he wants to be there for Ngamiland farmers as they face the mammoth task of trying to get the ministry of Agriculture to address their concerns. He says the parliament committee on agriculture has compiled a report, for the November sitting on the situation in Ngamiland. The committee has been left perplexed and horrified at what they discovered in their investigations. He says there is evidence of a systematic effort to suffocate the beef retail sector and kill it off in Ngamiland. It is such issues that make him have second thoughts on abandoning his constituents.
Tawana says he is happy that his presence in opposition politics provides a balance to the country’s political landscape. While the ruling party has a paramount chief in Ian Khama, he serves as his counterpart in opposition politics. He says it is sad that many people in the BDP are afraid to face Khama and advise him when he derails.
Even though he feels Ian’s brother, Tshekedi Khama is an intelligent man who deserves a ministerial post, Moremi doesn’t see him as someone who could take Khama head on and challenge some of his decisions. According to Tawana, the only person who can perhaps be brave enough to tell Khama when he is doing wrong is Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.
He also speaks on the issue of the Kalafatis killers who have since been pardoned and reinstated to the army. Tawana believes that Khama’s actions on the matter show that he knows more than we do and as such we just have to give him the benefit of doubt and trust his actions were motivated by information he received on the case, which the public may never be privy to. He believes that since the question of who gave orders to shoot Kalafatis never arose in court, it will be difficult to understand why he was killed. He said he only wished the BDP could restrain their members from trying to justify Khama’s decisions on this case when it is quite clear they have no information on why Khama tempered justice with mercy on the Kalafatis murderers.
We shift our discussion from politics to his personal life and this turns out to be a tearjerker. Even though Tawana is wearing sunglasses the entire time as we talk, his eyes get noticeably teary when he starts talking of the pain of no longer wake up in the morning to the noise of his kids. They now live exclusively with their mother who he is currently on separation with.
Tawana’s wife, Goitseone Moremi, has filed for divorce and has moved to her mother’s place with their two kids. Tawana visits the kids anytime and they too are allowed to visit him but that is no consolation to the pain of going through a divorce.
Tawana drives to block 9 and I can tell we’re going to his (ex) wife’s place. I was here in April 2003 when he tied the knot with Goitseone ‘Tsitsi’ Orapeleng, a beautiful woman he had been dating since 1998. His two kids join us in the car. Daddy is taking his children to a kids’ party at Riverwalk mall. My heart aches when I look at the kids and the love they display for their father.
Tawana is putting on a brave face and chats to his kids as if everything is normal but I know the pain he must be enduring deep down his heart. His son tells him that he spent the morning with his God father, President Ian Khama. They went outside Gaborone to play with motorbikes and he rode with Khama. He tells his father that now that he has finished writing his standard seven examinations, Khama has asked he moves to the State House so they can train together at the BDF gym.
Tawana discusses motorbike sporting with his 12 year old son who is also a karateka and is often out with Khama on leisure activities. We drop the kids off at Riverwalk and drive back to the parliamentary village.
I ask Tawana about his relationship with Khama. He says Khama was very supportive and took good care of him when he was growing up. He says Khama started distancing himself from him a few years ago and he suspects this could have been after Khama learnt Tawana drinks alcohol. He has never really bothered to question Khama or try to mend their relationship but confesses that Khama remains close to his kids. Khama became the kids’ Godfather after Goitseone requested him to be one.
We part ways and I still feel my paramount chief needs a lot of support and counselling as he goes through challenges in his life. He has promised me that he will try to read the Bible and maybe it will bring him answers. All his life, Tawana has read the Bible only up to page 3.
