Growing up as a young boy, my ambition was to become a soldier. Three different times I tried to enlist and on each of all those occasions I was turned away until with a heavy heart I gave up. To this day my love and respect for Botswana Defence Force has remained. The inflammatory rhetoric against Botswana Defence Force is clearly now taking a potentially dangerous anti-Botswana tinge. It should worry those of us who look at the BDF as much more than an organization employing soldiers. We have to at the very least accept the unalterable fact that Botswana Defence Force is an immensely important national institution .
If we agree on that, then we have to shield the institution from the untrustworthy and ever-shifting savage politics that are today pervading our public discourse. The BDF is under immense pressure today. They are fighting an incredibly difficult war against determined poachers in the northern parts of the country. Now a charged investigation traversing two countries is underway after BDF killed what they say were four poachers. From the Botswana side, an investigation on the BDF might look like a costly price. But it was perhaps the only price to pay to appease and placate the Namibians. The atmosphere is today fertile with conditions that could get even the finest army in the world demoralised. Yet as Batswana we still expect nothing short of war-readiness on the BDF, even as we participate in dismembering them with acidic criticism. Long before the shooting of Namibians, the BDF was already having to contend with dwindling resources as a result of a depressed economy. They have no resources needed to do what we expect them. It’s a big ask. Disciplined as ever, the BDF is making the best of the situation. They go on with their mandate as if nothing big is playing out around them. That is called professionalism. If there is a country Batswana can learn from in a time of military and security crisis, it has to be Israel.
In a time of crisis involving their military, Israelis always stand solid in honour of the Israeli Defence Forces. This is because the Jewish state is abnormally conscious of the debt they owe to their military. Botswana Defence Force is up against a vicious enemy in the northern parts of the country .Poaching levels in those parts of the country are fast reaching insurgency levels. Poachers are decimating our wildlife, especially rhinos at an alarming speed. Poachers are decimating our wildlife, especially rhinos at an alarming speed. The killing of four Namibians by the BDF should be put into context. An announcement that an investigation is underway. Under scrutiny is Botswana’s anti-poaching policy of shoot to kill. This policy, we must add is seldom discussed, much less acknowledged by authorities. Whatever the policy, the BDF needs to be ringfenced against unnecessary distractions. BDF soldiers do not make policy. They simply implement it .Crafting policies is the responsibility of political and civilian leadership.
We can criticize the BDF, but we should never turn our backs against them. They are an asset – a national pride. In the same way we should be generous to the Namibians. They have been a worthy neighbor. Relations might today be difficult, but we should never for a second forget that we have had incredibly good times – when they lasted. Independence came very late to Namibia after a long a deadly fight against forces of occupation that have included South Africa and Germany. But once independent, the country stormed ahead of its SADC peers in economic growth that included immense investments in education and infrastructure. The Namibians are an immensely proud people. They are also deeply steeped in politics of identity. To this day Namibians have kept a raging fire of grievances and colonial indignities committed against them by Germany over a hundred years ago. They are demanding reparations. And they are not about to give up.
Loyalty means a lot to them.Of course, rural poverty remains a problem.And Namibia has not escaped the African scourge of tribalism.In the region formerly known as the Caprivi Strip that borders Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe across the Zambezi plains, are the river tribes that make up some of Namibia’s war hardened tribes. This is close to where a flare-up with the BDF happened. BDF is adamant that they shot and killed four poachers. Namibian government insists the four were only fisherman. What is however not disputed is that the four were inside Botswana territory which is by itself not a rare thing since people from either side often cross the border back and forth almost on a daily basis and with no official documents. In the end we must there is a silver lining in the current difficulties. There is now room to look at the whole poaching problem with fresher eyes. There are no angels in the ongoing low intensity war. Botswana has for some time been the weak link in the fight against poaching. That was not always the case. The country let its guard down just over three years ago. This has compromised the security of not only Botswana, but neighbouring countries as well. Namibian president Geingob Hage will be under immense pressure from his people to be seen to be adopting a hard stance against Botswana.
As ever, the opposition is playing politics. They are opportunistically casting him as weak in the face of what they see as a clear-cut case of provocation and external confrontation. In Botswana, president Mokgweetsi Masisi with be hoping that his friendship with Dr Hage might carry the day. There is always a limit to personal diplomacy. Powerful interests in the Namibian government who have never met Masisi will be putting a lot of pressure on Dr Hage too. The magic is in ensuring that the unfortunate mishap does not drive either country to more entrenched positions that could lead to a new ark era of mutual distrust. The Namibia saga could not have come at a more difficult time for Masisi. He finds himself making a big bet on diplomacy abroad to save himself politically at home. Politics, they say, is always local. The credibility of his entire administration has come in for big and protracted questioning. It is the biggest test of his presidency. And so far, things are not looking too good for him, personally. That test is riddled with his predecessor, Ian Khama, who the state has accused of stealing P100 billion. Khama has made a feast of the whole mess. And has turned what had been crafted as a killer punch against himself into a political public relations platform to hit back at his successor. The case against Khama and associates is collapsing even before it starts as there is simply no iota of evidence so far adduced against them.
For a government ostensibly founded on the rule of law, this has been manifestly double standard.It has also been a source of untold embarrassment for Masisi and his circle, which for some time has also seen been developing cracks of its own. The president cannot afford to be tone deaf. Unless he acts decisively, treacherous turbulence awaits the aeroplane he is piloting. The public is clamouring for scalps. The least that Masisi can do to redeem himself is to sacrifice a number of key people in his administration by throwing them under the bus. There is one small headache. He is too indebted to many of them to be the first to draw blood. It will take much more than what looks like a dance a death with Dr Hage for Masisi to restore faith in himself and his government among Batswana. Ian Khama has volunteered to wipe out all poaching in three months if given a chance. So far there have been no takers.