Thousands of former soldiers are languishing in poverty and have long felt the weight of their new reality with paltry retirement packages. With a government largely unprepared to meet their needs, the ex-military personnel are suing those responsible for putting them in these incredibly stressful situations when they moved their pension benefits to the Botswana Public Officers Pensions Fund (BPOPF) in 2001.
Masisi, ex-soldiers
Mahalapye meeting 2019Issues of ex-military personnel becoming poor and consequently struggling to make ends meet have long been there. The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Retired Members Association invited Masisi who was then a year into office to their 11th annual meeting in Mahalapye in June 2019 where they poured their hearts out and hoped things would change with the Masisi administration, which was seeking to be elected later that year.
“My government is committed to establishing systems and structures that will address challenges pertaining to the military veterans,” Masisi had told the veterans.
To address all veterans’ affairs, Masisi said he had instructed the then Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Shaw Kgathi to come up with the Military Veteran Act. “The legislation specific to the Botswana Military Veterans will facilitate, empower and give authority to the military veterans unit to address the needs of ex-military members.
The legislation will provide structure and principles for governance of separated BDF members in line with international best practice,” Masisi had also indicated.
Masisi had pointed out that it was critical that the sacrifices of military veterans should be recognised and honoured by the nation. He assured retired soldiers that they are a natural resource that should be tapped into for the development of the nation. He said they would engage retired soldiers individually and collectively to determine how they make a contribution to the advancement of the nation.
Court case 2019In late 2019, about 200 retired soldiers led by former commander of the BDF Lieutenant General Gaolathe Galebotswe and other serving officers filed a suit through their attorney, Monthe Marumo & Co. The retired soldiers allegedly represented close to 2,000 litigants and according to the suit, the soldiers stated that it was illegal and unlawful contrary to the provisions of the BDF Act and its regulations for their pension to have been transferred to the BPOPF without their consent.
Through their court papers, they argued that the amendment in 2002 of the BDF Act and its regulations to the effect that any person who joined the BDF on or after April 1, 2001 shall be deemed to be a member of the BPOPF does not apply to them, they pointed out.
The suit further states that the pension arrangement for the BDF was governed by the defence force (regular force, officers), regulations and defence force (regular force and other ranks) regulations prescribed pursuant to the BDF Act until the 2002 amendment and the same does not apply to the retired soldiers.
They say the purported transition of members of the BDF, both the officers and other ranks including the retired soldiers to the BPOPF-operated pension scheme, had no legal basis and is therefore, a nullity.
The suit added that the migration has disadvantaged the retired soldiers immensely. They further stated that within the BDF, the issue was presented as an instruction. They said that they were not given a choice to join or not join the BPOPF, given the culture of the army, once an instruction was given it had to be obeyed. Recently the matter was ruled as a class action. A class action is a legal proceeding in which one or more plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group, known as the class.
Masisi presents himself as the Messiah With the matter still before the courts four years later, Masisi decided to make comments at the recent BDP national council and extraordinary congress in Palapye. “Leha go sekwa goa buisanwa, re a go baakanyetsa masole a rona a a duleng mo tirong (even if this is a court matter, we can still sit down and talk; we are going to fix everything for our retired soldiers). If you allow me and pass this proposal before this council and congress, I am going to call them back,” Masisi told BDP members in Palapye.
He said they are going to sit down with ex-soldiers to talk and fix what has been broken. “Phoso e dirwa ke motho e baakangwa ke motho (An error is made and fixed by a person),” he said.
Masisi said he was serious about this issue because he was in Mahalapye in 2019 just before the elections attending retired soldiers’ meeting where they aired their concerns and troubles. He said retired soldiers told him that they are struggling despite fighting for the country. “They made this country famous because of the hard work they put. I was very emotional and I asked them to give me time because I was busy on the campaign trail. I asked them to sit down with me after the elections,” he said.
Masisi claims that the matter was escalated by some retired soldiers who decided to politicise the issue and rush to the courts.
He said he is not the kind of person who will stand before anyone who wants to go to court. “Gake tseege sentle batho ba ba a sotlega (I don’t feel okay these people are very poor). They even take money from windows to pay legal fees. This is a democratic country I don’t take decisions alone but if you let me I will call them so that we can finally sit down and talk,” he indicated.
Masisi said their main intention as he had made it clear in Mahalapye is to set things right and make life easier for retired soldiers. He said they want to mend what was destroyed in the past. He said he would be the Messiah for ex-soldiers despite having not been a soldier. “But now I am the commander-in-chief, all soldiers call me Sir! They salute! I will make it up to the soldiers past and present. Everything will be fine,” he indicated.
Khama’s comments irked the government
After Masisi’s BDP council comments, according to the government, Khama allegedly made his own casting aspersions on Masisi’s pledge of commitment to address the conditions of service for members of the BDF. In a press release, Minister of Defence and Security Kagiso Mmusi said it is intriguing that most of the attacks spewed by Khama have also come from some of the former leadership of the BDF who created the problems Masisi is addressing.
Mmusi said Khama was derelict in his duties to let the situation deteriorate under their watch. Botswana government claims former president Khama had all the time in the world to address retired soldiers’ plight.
“Perhaps Khama is feeling guilty that he left the BDF in such a sorry state, after having spent almost his entire life at its helm, from the tender age of 23 years as the deputy commander, until his retirement as the commander-in-chief, It is ironic that instead of applauding the efforts intended to address his inefficiency, he chooses to ridicule improvements of military conditions of service by his successor, President Masisi,” he said.
In the controversial press release, Mmusi said Khama left behind a demoralised BDF, with poor conditions of service, dilapidated infrastructure, ageing, sub-standard and unserviceable equipment. He alleges that employee welfare was not a priority during Khama’s time, as his word was the law, something he continued as commander-in-chief. Mmusi said when President Masisi came to power, one of his first priorities was to assess the readiness state of the BDF and come up with intervention measures to stop and reverse the corrupt practices that have been perpetuated for far too long.
“It is important to note that during Khama’s tenure as the commander, there was an amendment to some provisions of the Pensions Regulations which resulted in the current complaints of lower pension rates for BDF members, a matter that is currently before the courts. As the commander then, Khama failed to recognise and address such issues. It is shocking that the same past leadership of the BDF is now accusing the President of “go ithatisa masole” when he is only attending to the welfare of current and former members of the BDF which were largely ignored by some of them,” he said.
Mmusi said the current presidency continues to improve the welfare of active and former members of the BDF therefore, pieces of legislation for the disciplined forces among others the Botswana Defence Force Act, resulting in, among other things, improvements on retirement ages. He said to address the welfare of former members a ground-breaking reform in the form of a Military Veterans Act (Act No. 4 of 2023) has been passed by Parliament.
Retired soldiers dismiss Masisi’s remarksThis week some retired soldiers and beneficiaries of deceased military retirees called President Masisi’s remarks at the just-ended ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) national council and extra-ordinary congress a bluff and a political gimmick. The members of A Re itshekeng (ARI) Social Club, a temporary and apolitical social club stated at a press conference this week that Masisi in Palapye made some misleading “as well as scathing remarks”. Masisi has always been aware of the pension grievances of the military retirees and how they also affected those who are serving in the BDF.
Tick-tock for MasisiMasisi with a year left before the general election year knows that he has a limited amount of time to please thousands of soldiers who have retired and are about to leave the service. Despite blaming Khama for his alleged past wrongs, Masisi’s pledge to make it up to military veterans will run into the cold reality of a fast-closing window of time if he keeps revisiting the past instead of addressing the now. If the matter drags on until next year, Masisi will have no time to flip the thousands of soldiers who are critical in any general election. Following his Palapye comments, Masisi is now under intense pressure to deliver on his promises. There is a real danger that he’ll miss his window on this major issue.
