Masisi labeled a threat to Botswana democracy
President Mokgweetsi Masisi is a serious threat to Botswana’s democracy, peace and stability, according to the opposition coalition, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The accusation is contained in a petition delivered to the District Officer’s office in Tutume over the weekend. The petition lists among these threats: “the failed transition from the Ian Khama Seretse Khama presidency to the Masisi presidency, the deepening and widespread poverty and inequalities in our society with associated high levels of unemployment especially among the youth, low wages, growing retrenchment of workers, high cost of living, intolerable levels of gender-based violence.” Further, the UDC is concerned by inter alia, corruption, lack of free and objective state media which has been turned into Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) propaganda tool; state managed harassment of citizens through a pseudo called Museveni; infighting in the different branches of the security service, growing intolerance to opposition by the current government, and President’s recent alleged interference with judiciary as reported by Justice Ketlogetswe and Kgosi Mosadi Seboko, among others. The UDC finds it interesting that the allegations corroborate what the party raised post 2019 elections and the Law Society of Botswana in the past few years. According to the petition, signed by the UDC president, Duma Boko, the UDC, which claims to be one of the custodians and architects of the country’s democracy and peace demand that the President, his Ministers and other state apparatus who are currently interfering with judicial independence stop forthwith. “The government must immediately adopt all democratic processes of appointment of judges which involves extensive consultations, transparency and use of merit followed by in-built Parliamentary oversight in order to stop appointment of judges on the basis of other considerations rather than merit,” the petition demanded. Given the deepening poverty, spreading poverty in the context of high cost of living and the weak government’s capacity to relieve especially the most vulnerable youth and poverty stricken people, government should introduce unemployment allowance on trial basis for the next 12 months. The petition further demands that given growing levels of corruption, the government should set up a commission of inquiry into cause of corruption and how to address it through strong oversight institutions that report directly to parliament. Not happy with how Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is handled, the UDC wants government to set up a research based temporary vehicle to thoroughly investigate cause of GBV, which will recommend institutionalised longterm solutions beyond talking and blaming victor and victims using superficial solutions. Further, the UDC petition calls upon President Masisi and his government to stop using state media to push BDP agenda. The UDC demands that there should be no retrenchments in the ongoing rationalisation of state-owned enterprises. “Finally, we call on President Masisi to resuscitate the All-Party Conference as a forum of consultation on national issues of concern such as the review of the Constitution, unemployment, GBV and electoral reforms,” the UDC petition said.