Khama’s return imminent
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday July 8, 2024 06:00
They would on the day of the marathon invade the Kgotla with placards where they clashed with the police resulting in at least eight of them being arrested. They also claim some were brutalised. According to Balwela-Kgosi chairperson, their visit to the Kgotla was to clean it up as its rightful owner Ian Khama is on the verge of returning home. This they echoed through a press conference addressed by the royal uncles on July 1, being the birthday of the late Sir Seretse Khama. “We have had several occasions to consult and engage with Khama in Johannesburg whereupon we updated him on the state of affairs in Gammangwato, the effect of his absence on the tribe and its bogosi. “We gave him feedback regarding the overwhelming desire of Bagammangwato, especially the elderly, for him to return to Botswana as soon as possible, also expressed by senior citizens in other parts of the country who say they wish to see him before they pass on,” Kgosi Rasebolai Kgamane said. In this context, he said they have been consulting the tribe across Gammangwato to hear their views about the chieftainship issue, the closure of the Kgotla in Serowe, as well as the absence of Kgosikgolo from home.
Kgamane said in the past month they paid a courtesy call on him and gave him feedback that the tribe and many other Batswana want him to return home as soon as practicable. “We have no doubt that the nation as a whole is aware of several imperatives that have brought us here, where we now live in an environment of harassment, intimidation and brutalisation by the administration of President Mokgweetsi Masisi,” he said. He gave an example of what they termed aggression against Bagammangwato. Most significant, Kgamane said it's an offensive by the Masisi regime to try to nullify the birth right and status of Ian Khama as the recognised Kgosi of Gammangwato, in the process infringing upon his constitutional rights with respect to chieftainship and royal privileges. “Secondly it’s the continued onslaught on Gammangwato by armed police each time there is a royal call for Kgotla meetings for consultation about bogosi issues and other matters of tribal concern. This continues to be used by government to deny Bagammangwato tribal consultation and peaceful assembly,” he said.
Further, he laments the premature removal of Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane and the imposition of Serogola Seretse to divide the tribe as the appointment has not been designated by Kgosikgolo. “There is the collapse of the P100 billion theft fabrication that was made against Khama followed recently by withdrawal of charges against senior public officers who refused to falsely implicate Khama in charges of possession of unlicensed and unregistered weapons, who had been charged with “aiding and abetting” possession of the said weapons. There is the harassment and persecution of Khama’s brothers and their families which has resulted in them leaving Botswana for their own safety after they were illegally detained and imprisoned, preventing them all from burying their only sister in Botswana 2022,” he said. Kgamane also lamented that it is not hard to see that recent objectionable amendment to some provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Botswana was targeted at former president, Khama, in several respects. Further, he said they note the frustration and betrayal by Masisi of all efforts both locally and internationally to try to find a resolution to his fallout with Khama. “Quite clearly all that the government of Masisi is doing in Gammangwato particularly meddling in bogosi is clear evidence of a continuing vendetta by Masisi against Khama, something we have to bring to an end,” he said.
As Bagammangwato, Kgamane said they feel provoked, brutalised and pushed beyond tolerance. “We want to remind Masisi that like all other tribes in Botswana we have a constitutional right of assembly and freedom of speech. The President must remember that like all citizens of Botswana we also vote. Guns, police armoured vehicles, arrests and detentions may brutalise us but will not silence us. We remind the President further that he cannot impose Serogola Seretse, a very junior royal uncle, on us as our Kgosi,” he said. Kgamane said Khama is coming back home very soon. “Let Masisi do whatever he wants as he has shown with the events of this past weekend. He will be responsible for any consequences,” he warned.
Khama, who has for years now been nestled in Johannesburg, South Africa is facing 14 criminal charges, ranging from unlawful possession of a firearm to receiving stolen property. Now, with charges against some of those he was charged with being dropped, Khama feels it is an opportune time for him to come home. Commenting on the criminal charges against Khama, President Masisi recently told Serowe residents that when he was briefed about them, he directed that no matter what, the former president should never be handcuffed. “I told them that whatever they do, as per the law, they should never ever handcuff him. I would never allow that,' he emphasised.