ASSEMBLAGE OF LIARS!
Opposition parties now happy to work with Khama, Kgosi ■ Ruling party takes a swipe at ‘dishonest’ opposition parties ■ UDC accuses BDP of being dishonest control freaks
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) spokesperson, Kagelelo Kentse has called the opposition an assemblage of liars and opportunists who pledge one thing and do the opposite.
Kentse said this on the backdrop of the ongoing debate surrounding the issue of opposition party leaders openly saying they find nothing wrong with welcoming former the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) boss, Isaac Kgosi and and former president Ian Khama as their allies.
At the height of this debate is Kgosi’s surprise appearance at a Botswana National Front (BNF) rally in Gaborone on Sunday, where he was welcomed with loud cheers and ululations before being escorted to the VIP tent where he sat with other party dignitaries and guests. Among others, the rally was addressed by party president Duma Boko who is known to have been the greatest critic of the duo.
Now the ongoing sentiments from various leaders in the opposition that nothing is wrong with welcoming them seems to have only not served to deepen the fissures within the opposition but has also set tongues wagging, as the people wonder what might have changed. Even those sympathetic to the ruling party have expressed shock at the change of heart, remembering that even the first ever major break up at the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that gave birth to the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) was a direct result of the disdain for Khama and the harassment of party members said to have been led by Kgosi.
Only a few years ago, the opposition party leaders, either as individual parties or as the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), an opposition party coalition, fingered Kgosi and Khama of corruption, pledging to lock them up when the UDC takes over government.
At the time, they swore they could not touch them even at a distance with a broomstick.
For the BDP spokesperson, Kentse, the cosy relationship between the opposition parties and the duo is testimony that the opposition parties cannot be trusted on anything they say.
“In as much as they have somersaulted on Khama and Kgosi, they will somersault on the election pledges they make should they one day win the elections. “If they had won the elections, they would have forgotten about the 100 000 jobs the promised, the increased old age pension, the fight against corruption, as well as the minimum wage they promised,” the BDP mouthpiece said.
“After telling everybody that Kgosi and Khama were not only corrupt but were murderers, citing the several extrajudicial killings at the time, they have suddenly embraced the two,” said Kentse who noted that the opposition should never be given state power because they are downright liars.
“The BDP will never promise things just for the sake of political mileage because, as the ruling party, the people will hold us accountable,” Kentse said.
Opposition activists have even cited the story of what South Africa’s Nelson Mandela did upon his release from prison when he forgave and engaged the architects of apartheid and his jailers. They argue that just as with Mandela, the opposition was doing right to rather reconcile with the duo than to seek retribution. Humiliating Khama and Kgosi may not be the best decision for the country, they argue.
The UDC Head of Communications, Moeti Mohwasa denies that the appearance of Kgosi at the BNF’s 56th anniversary has irked any party members. Mohwasa accuses the ruling BDP of being control freaks who want to dictate to the opposition whom to relate with.
“When Kgosi Bathoen joined the BNF, the chiefs were then blocked from being active in politics. When the BDP ship was sinking they ran to Khama, cap in hand pleading with him to rescue them. “Now when he leaves them, suddenly he shouldn’t be active in politics. This country has for a long time been subjected to BDP abuse and we will not allow that to continue,” said Mohwasa.
“On the allegations that we are embracing people who were involved in atrocities, we would propose that the BDP regime set up a commission of enquiry to investigate these allegations so that this matter is put to rest.
“We as a nation should know who killed Kalafatis, for example. If Khama and Kgosi had indeed committed such heinous crimes they would have long been prosecuted,” Mohwasa added.
Mohwasa challenged the BDP on the issue of truthfulness.
“The BDP says it does not make empty promises. You don’t have to go far to prove BDP are themselves liars. Just take their 2019 election manifesto.
“Let’s leave out other promises as they are hiding behind covid. Corruption is so rife and unprecedented. There is still no bargaining council. The list is endless,” he stated, adding that, as UDC, they have not somersaulted on prosecuting Khama and Kgosi.
“We said in the light of serious allegations that have been raised against them they will be investigated and charged if there is a prima facie evidence against them. “There is no way that we were going to vengefully use state institutions against them. What the UDC government would not block is genuine investigations by the relevant authority against anyone, not even its leaders,” explained the UDC mouthpiece.
While Mohwasa said the UDC may investigate the duo, Boko is on record saying he has forgiven Khama, which many see as the reason Khama and Kgosi may be running to befriend the UDC, knowing that under Boko’s government, they will no longer have to face the law as with the current situation where they are being investigated. Other opposition leaders such as Phenyo Butale and Sedirwa Kgoroba of the AP have also come out clearly to defend the opposition’s stance on Khama and Kgosi, saying they never had a problem with them as individuals, but as a part of the system engineered by the ruling party.