Boko transition: Ill-prepared civil servants spill gov't secret
Monday November 11, 2024 13:50
On November 1, 2024, when Chief Justice Terence Rannowane declared President Duma Boko as the winner of the 2024 General Election, the government was thrown into uncharted territory. They had to facilitate a transition of power from one regime to another – something that possibly never crossed their minds, let alone planned for.
Some of the civil servants recounted how before the elections they were already working on the draft inauguration speech for the now-former president Mokgweetsi Masisi. But a day after the elections, which was a public holiday, the writing was on the wall that the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) was sweeping through the polls and poised to win.
When civil servants returned to work on Friday, November 1, their former chief, outgoing president Masisi, called an urgent press conference through his Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) early in the morning at Hotel 4:30, at the Gaborone Central Business District (CBD). At one of the most sombre BDP events ever, for the first time in the illustrious history of the party, the Domkrag leader delivered a speech to accept defeat in the general elections. Masisi admitted that it was a 'shock' result. “I didn’t even pack a shoe,” he told reporters on how he was optimistic about going back to the State House.
As the transition process kicked off, and the state apparatus frantically prepared to welcome their new principal, Mmegi reporters kept tabs on the movements around the incoming president.
By midmorning on that fateful Friday, UDC leader Boko was publicly seen for the first time since Election Day, leaving a hotel in Gaborone with his private entourage in a Volkswagen Caravelle Executive minibus bearing South African registration numbers, heading to his private home at Masetlheng ward in Tlokweng. A handful of jubilant supporters waited by his house entrance at Tlokweng looking to meet their ‘president-in-waiting’ before the state security could take him over. By noon, the yard was still not guarded as no state security was in the area.
It was only after midday that the Directorate on Intelligence Service (DIS) Director-General Fana Magosi arrived at Boko’s house for the first briefing. The spy chief was accompanied by one agent and the briefing did not last long. Minutes later the intelligence duo left Boko’s house, once again leaving no state security on guard for the incoming president.
An hour later, at Btv studios in Gaborone, the Returning Officer for presidential elections Chief Justice Rannowane officially declared UDC leader Boko as President-Elect.
The events that are supposed to follow the Chief Justice’s declaration are not clearly pronounced. But one thing is clear, the President-Elect cannot exercise the duties of the President before he takes an Oath of Office as per Section 37 of the Constitution.
But a well-known tradition is that an Oath of Office of the President is taken at the inauguration ceremony held at a public place after the elections. And since the inauguration ceremony is normally held a few days after the elections, because it involves a lot of planning, this meant that Botswana was facing a presidential vacuum phenomenon.
But it turns out there was a secret tradition that is usually followed to avoid this vacuum whilst the nation was waiting for the swearing-in at the inauguration ceremony. According to long-serving presidential aides, an intimate event away from the media in the privacy of the Chief Justice’s chambers, the President-Elect is usually sworn in immediately after being declared the winner of the elections. This private event is said to be documented by only selected state media personnel and the footage is never published but it is kept as documentary evidence. This swearing-in is never mentioned as a way to avoid confusion with the oath taken at the inauguration ceremony. But the ill-preparedness of the state for a possible transition let out this well-kept secret.
It happened that right at the close of government business on that eventful Friday, the new presidential entourage, led by the DIS director-general arrived at Boko’s private home to transport him to his ‘swearing in’. It was reported that the swearing-in was to be held live on the national broadcaster at the Btv studios. Boko’s media team which has been working for him during the campaign was documenting this historic event from his home to Btv. His Facebook page was live, showing the President-Elect leaving his home with family and close friends travelling to his 'swearing-in event at Btv'.
Confusion then ensued at Btv when suddenly, without any announcement, the new presidential convoy left the Mass Media Complex and sped off to the High Court. As Btv producers were busy preparing for a swearing-in at their auditorium they learnt through Facebook that the President-Elect had left the building. Private media caught wind of the event, and they too rushed to the Gaborone High Court to go and cover this most important event. Btv producers, who were also clueless about the sudden change of events, managed to frantically send one of their camerapeople to the High Court. And no state photographers could make it to the event.
At the High Court photographers could be seen rushing through the chamber’s alleys. The Gaborone High Court is built like a maze and it is easy to get lost in the building. And since it was after hours with no staff to direct the media, the photographers reached several dead ends before they found a corridor with men in dark suits and sunglasses. The security agents were instructed to block any media from accessing the Chief Justice’s Chamber where the swearing-in was about to take place. After some frantic negotiations with the spy chief and consultation with both the Chief Justice and the incoming president, private media was eventually allowed inside the room with an instruction that they should not stream the event live.
Inside the small boardroom were Boko and his spouse Kaone Boko as well as his close associates and security officials. Also present were some clergymen, including Boko’s spiritual advisor Pastor Mmoloki Magokgwane and his spouse together with Pastor Thuso Tiego. Boko’s media team was already streaming the event live on Facebook which went against the spy chief's instructions to the private media.
Justice Rannowane explained why the swearing-in had to be immediate to avoid the presidential vacuum. Boko reiterated his remarks saying, he could not even offer the nation a holiday to thank themselves for performing such a monumental task of changing a government after 58 years because without being sworn in, he had no powers.
And it is now an open secret that today’s inauguration is just a ceremonial event because President Boko was procedurally sworn in last week on November 1, 2024, at the Gaborone High Court.