Khama and automatic succession
Siki Motshwari Johannes | Friday May 12, 2017 12:26
It is a well-documented fact that at the height of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) factional bickering, former president Sir Ketumile Masire initiated Constitutional amendment to make provision for automatic succession.
The initiator of automatic succession wanted to settle once and for all the question of succession. It was intended to create some semblance of political order, avert possible power struggles and ensure a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from one leader to another. The immediate beneficiary of automatic succession would later be former president, Festus Mogae in 1998 and later the sitting President, Ian Khama in 2008. Without watering down the demerits of automatic succession, it is credited for serving the nation well during the period of transition from Masire regime to Mogae and from Mogae to Khama.
The next logical beneficiary of automatic succession was supposed to be the late former army General Mompati Merafhe who was named Khama’s Vice President (VP) in 2008. In an unprecedented move, Merafhe was not to be the heir apparent. When he took charge of the affairs of the country in 2008, no one could have predicted that Khama would not be in a hurry to put beyond question the issue of succession.
Poor Merafhe was so near to the Presidency and yet so far. Khama was not ready to name his anointed successor and the nation was plunged into a period of political uncertainty for almost seven good years in so far as the question of succession was concerned.
The wisdom which motivated Khama to deprive Merafhe, who was obviously a presidential material, of a free passage to the Presidency as provided for in the supreme law of the land is yet to be established. It is suspected the age factor (Merafhe 72, in 2008) could have worked against him.
If there is any iota of truth on the age factor, then it was clearly unfair on the part of Khama to use age as a basis for placing the presidential seat beyond Merafhe’s reach. Ronald Reagan, USA’s statesman who possessed extra-ordinarily exceptional ability ran for presidency and won at the age of 78 in 1984 and completed his second term in 1989 at the age of 83.
Next door, it may not be a good example though, Robert Mugabe, 92, is still at the helm of Government in the Republic of Zimbabwe. So, age is not necessarily a big factor in politics.
With Merafhe’s presidential dreams shattered, the race for the VP position became wide and open. Every Jack and Jill now fancied his or her chances. The party was to experience a historic, dramatic rise in the numbers of many pretenders to the throne. The list includes Ponatshego PHK Kedikilwe, Daniel DK Kwelagobe, Margaret Nasha, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Dorcus Makgato, Tshekedi Khama, Kitso Mokaila, Nonofo Molefhi, Jacob Nkate and Robert Masitara.
Jostling for power and attention seeking became the order of the day and this could not have taken place without weakening the party’s strength. So Khama could have inadvertently committed the worst political blunder by delaying to conclude the succession issue. His wait-and-see game could have yielded the unintended consequence of exacerbating political tension within the ranks of the BDP.
Political temperatures and mutual suspicion reached feverish heights when it was suspected that Khama was harbouring a secret agenda to keep the presidency in the family. Matters came to a head when the President promoted his brother Tshekedi TK Khama from the backbench to head the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. It was suspected that he did not want to throw his brother into the deep end and was therefore buying time to allow TK to learn the ropes and reach political maturity.
When satisfied that he had gained sufficient political and administrative experience, he would elevate him to the vice presidency, it was alleged. Though damaging Khama’s relations with colleagues, no efforts were made to confirm or deny the rumours. In came Ponatshego Kedikilwe subsequent to Merafhe’s forced exit caused by sudden illness, to which he finally succumbed.
Kedikilwe, also formerly Mmadinare constituency legislator was an obvious choice on account of his seniority in the party, administrative acumen and intellectual prowess. He had proved his mettle in the public service and while at the helm of various ministerial positions. Until the arrival of Khama he was the undisputed king of the party holding the influential post of chairman. He only bowed out of the party chairmanship in 2003 following a gruesome tussle for the post with Khama.
Khama and Kedikilwe did not see eye-to-eye subsequent to the acrimonious 2003 chairmanship contest. A year later, unable to stand the heat in the kitchen and the tense political atmosphere Kedikilwe resigned his post as Minister of Education. Kedikilwe’s self-imposed exile kept him in the political wilderness for almost five years.
When many were beginning to write him off ,a surprise Cabinet reshuffle in the last days of Mogae’s rule saw Kedikilwe ‘rising from the political dead’ to assume his rightful position in Cabinet alongside other giants like Kwelagobe.
To his credit while in the wilderness, Kedikilwe kept a low profile and never disparaged then President, Mogae, and Khama. This must have won him sympathy. And Mogae reciprocated by reconsidering him for Cabinet appointment.
Back into the Cabinet, Kedikilwe grabbed the opportunity with both hands and he hanged on this lifeline until his ascendance to the vice presidency. Ironically, it was his nemesis Khama who made him vice president. Khama has been portrayed and perceived as a vindictive and revengeful leader who can hardly forgive and forget. In complete contrast to this image, Khama did not allow his past political differences with PHK to cloud his judgement.
Khama’s appointment of PHK to the second highest office in the land demonstrated that he clearly placed a high premium on merit. What is more, the President, probably weary of conflicts, yearned for peace and stability and a return of the party to its glory days. To achieve this end, appeasement of his perceived or real enemies was imperative. Other considerations, however important, were only secondary.
In a previous interview, University of Botswana (UB) political science lecturer, Professor Zibani Maundeni gave a brief description of a good vice president to succeed Merafhe as one that listens and acts in consonant with the boss all the time.
With two years remaining in Merafhe’s term, Kedikilwe, one of the party’s most experienced politician and shrewd administrator helped Khama solidify the party ahead of the 2014 general elections. This appointment meant that Khama had rewarded PHK (74 years in 2012) for his loyalty to his administration after years of questionable loyalty and factional bickering. PHK had made his intentions known that he wanted to retire from active politics in 2014.
The fact that Kedikilwe had announced his retirement plans from active politics, just before the 2014 general elections, made him a better candidate for VP since President Khama had always made it clear that he will only appoint his possible heir apparent, after the 2014 general elections.
Kedikilwe, a soft person, came handy to moderate Khama’s hardline position for the benefit of the country. His eloquence in rich Setswana and his physical demeanour have always been of a statesman and PHK’s eloquence in Setswana in particular complemented very well his principal who struggled in the vernacular.
His administrative abilities are traceable to his impeccable public service record as he had served as the Minister at Presidential Affairs and Public Administration; Commerce and Industry; Finance and Development Planning and Education.
Until he stepped down in 2014 he was an MP since 1984 after serving at various key parastatals and private organisations.
Kedikilwe had acted as Vice President most of the previous years when Merafhe was hospitalised and performed with aplomb. His principal, Khama had also rated him (Kedikilwe) among the top performers ever since he was appointed to Cabinet.
At Kedikilwe’s farewell dinner in 2014, Khama demonstrated the importance of his outgoing VP as he said in summation: “Dr Kedikilwe had been a rock of support, bringing in to the post the emotional intelligence and wisdom born of his vast experience”. PHK as he was affectionately known, will always be remembered as Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, where he notably oversaw the relocation of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) from London to Gaborone.
The President further reminisced with nostalgia in his Kedikilwe farewell speech: “The eloquence of your orations will be especially missed. We are not likely to soon see another so well versed in the language of the Caesars or so given to learned quotations.”