Addressing BDP members upon being elected Presidential candidate for the BDP for the 2014 General Election at the BDP national Council in early April, President Khama remarked that ‘as to my leadership, there are those lost souls in the opposition who in their desperate attempts to discredit me, have out of frustration called me a dictator. Apparently this arises from the fact that I do not shy away from making decisions’. While it is not expected that President Khama would readily admit that he is a dictator, his remarks that he is called a dictator because he does not shy away from making decisions are misleading and mischievous.
We do not and cannot quarrel with President Khama for making decisions per se but rather we fault him for his unilateral decisions that often put his personal interests ahead of the interests of the nation. A leadership style can be identified by how the leader uses authority and how they relate with others. For instance, under a dictatorial leadership style, the leader makes all decisions exactly the same way. President Khama does not shy away from making decisions and makes no apology for making bizarre decisions. Dictators use excessive discipline exactly the same way President Khama has been on a crusade to force-feed discipline on Batswana. Dictators do not tolerate people who question their decisions and do not value other people’s ideas in ways that foster cults of personality.
Writing for ListVerse, an online publication of a variety of intriguing logic and conclusions derived from rigorous studies, Nicholas Cockayne identifies five signs that characterize a dictator. This essay discusses, in simplified form, these characteristics to validate our argument that President Khama is an incorrigible, soulless dictator. Firstly, dictators are known to be egomaniacs. President Khama confirmed this conjecture when he revealed that ‘I do make decisions on many occasions, on many situations and is something for which I make no apology’. Dictators often dedicate considerable amount of time talking about themselves, their abilities, their ideas and their visions. In contemporary Botswana, all government business is about President Khama.
He is the creator of all the laws of the land and the pioneer of all policies and programs for the poor and lost souls and he will not shy away to make decisions and will not apologize for introducing pitiful schemes that humiliate the dignity of citizens while portraying himself as their saviour. State programs funded from the national treasury are now referred to as President Khama’s programs ÔÇô mananeo a rraetsho! Secondly, Cockayne asserts that dictators are pretty damn eccentric and do not feel bad about imposing their little oddities upon their subjects. On becoming the President of the Republic of Botswana, Khama quickly effected sweeping changes that ensured a radical departure from established norm. Assistant Cabinet Ministers were barred from attending Cabinet meetings and their official vehicles were stripped of the national flag.
On the day he took oath of office, President Khama introduced trading curfews for liquor outlets and introduced alcohol levy to limit alcohol use and impose his lifestyle on citizens. He has threatened to increase the levy until alcoholic beverages are priced out of the market. This is despite evidence based advice that the introduction of alcohol levy in the USA in the 1930s failed to address the problem instead leading to bootlegging. Once a dictator makes up the mind, it is pretty impossible to make them change their mind even when presented with hard facts. Elsewhere, President Khama directed that women employed in the civil service should not come to work dressed in revealing garments. Thirdly, Cockayne reveals that every good dictator needs their own set of groupies.
For instance, Hitler had his brown shirts; Saddam had the Republican Guard and Gaddafi had his Amazonian guard ÔÇô an all-female presidential guard that also doubled as sex objects. Like all distinguished despots, President Khama has his loyalists most of who are former soldiers who mimic his dress code and religiously take up his every choice and follow him around like trained pets. President Khama has unparalleled love for combat jackets and now all senior government officials and his troop of fans wear combat jackets to the point where the jackets resemble casual uniform. President Khama prefers to sit on the front passenger seat when he is being chauffeured and Cabinet Ministers who have taken up the fashion and ride on the front seat against established norm. Dictators seem to feel good surrounded by people who like them; people who are dedicated to them; people who would kill and die for them. Fourthly, Nicholas Cockayne discovered that one of the tell-tale signs of dictators is their hardheartedness and their poor sense for human life.
Fittingly, President Khama and his cronies have gone on record that one or two killings would not tarnish Botswana’s reputation. Consequently, more people have died at the hands of state security since Khama’s presidency than in the 40 years before his ascendance. And now we have reports of a hit list of politicians the state intends to eliminate. Lastly, Cockayne argues that power is a seductive mistress, an addictive thrill; one taste and you are left thirsting for more. President Khama has gone on record stating that he hated politics and given a choice, he would rather been somewhere else. While still the Vice President, he seriously toyed with the idea of quitting politics, but having tasted the powers conferred on the presidency by the national constitution and accompanying privileges, President Khama is now enjoying his life and may as well manipulate the laws to get another term. And with power comes the urge to reconstruct the country according to your taste, and forge your own heaven. Unlike his predecessors, President Khama does not shy away from evoking the excessive and seemingly evil powers conferred on the presidency by the national constitution, often for his personal interests.
If after reading this validation essay, you still do not believe that President Khama is a dictator you may as well not believe that you are a human being.
