I have not endorsed any candidate - Masire

Tension among democrats continues to play itself out as the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) prepares to go to an electoral congress in Mmadinare next month. Things are in that descending order of importance. An invitation by the Southern Region to former president Sir Ketumile Masire has triggered heated debate regarding whether Masire has endorsed Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi for the position of party chairman. Masisi is contesting against four others in Dikgakgamatso Ramadeluka Seretse, Tebelelo Seretse, Biggie Butale and Moemedi Dijeng.

Since the Jwaneng regional congress last Saturday, reports have emerged that Masire wrote a letter to the Southern Region endorsing Masisi. This is something that both the Region and Masire have vehemently denied. However, what all agreed is that Masire was invited as an elder who comes from that region and was to give a word of encouragement at the regional elective congress. However, Masire did not attend as he had travelled to Dubai to attend a meeting of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation as a board member of the governance body. Instead he wrote a letter of apology declining the invitation. It is his response that has caused so much brouhaha.

Masire’s letter reads in part: “Although I have retired from taking part in party meetings and other activities, I would have loved to have taken part in your meeting which should, amongst other things, be a congratulatory one for somebody from the region, being the Vice President of the country, as well as a preparatory meeting for presenting him as the region’s candidate for the chairmanship of the party in Mmadinare. May our hopes and wishes find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Wishing you a successful conference.” Former cabinet minister, Peter Siele, read the letter. The latter was among several party elders who were invited to grace the occasion by the region’s former chairman Julius Kamodi and his committee. Siele has confirmed attending the congress as an elder and being asked from the floor to read Masire’s message as well as give a word of encouragement.

Kamodi says they invited “all our elders, especially those who served in Parliament, to embrace congress.  When we invited Masire, he did not know who would be here or who would be elected. He responded by tendering an apology. He was merely congratulating our region for having produced a Vice President as this was the first congress he would attend”. On Wednesday this week, Masire sought to set the record straight and denied ever endorsing any candidate for any position. Says Masire in a strongly worded statement: “I am a board member of Mo Ibrahim Foundation on Governance.  In that capacity, I was due to attend a meeting in Dubai on 5 - 7 June 2015. Two days before my departure, I had an invitation to speak in Jwaneng at the Domkrag meeting of the Southern Region. I declined because I was going to be in Dubai on the day for which I was invited.

“I however thanked the chairman for the invitation. I also congratulated them for one of their parliamentary candidates having become the Vice President of the country and wished them to put up a credible candidate for the chairmanship of the party. Since I had no pre-knowledge of whom the conference would decide on, I could only express the hope for their candidate to be worthy to hold that position.  For all I know, the candidate could be from any other region. “Having outlined the above, I am not in a position to apologise to anyone for responding to the chairman’s invitation the way I did. Common courtesy demands that if you get an invitation, you should express thanks for it and acknowledge whatever the meeting is intending to achieve.  This was the essence of my response to the invitation. This is what constitutes the body of my letter to the chairman, and if he chose to share that with the meeting, it was up to him.

“If those who heard the message interpreted it in the context of the North and the South, it would be most unfortunate.  I can only say to them, ‘Gomotsegang, welang dibete,’ my message was not meant to support any candidate over any other. We have a very good slate of candidates for the chairmanship of the party. Age, gender and youth are all brandishing their amour for the battle for the chairmanship of the party. It is up to them to ask for inspiration for the congress to choose the best from the good, the better and the best.

“Perhaps this is as good a time as any to express my concern. We seem to be missing the substance to embrace the shadow. Botswana is whatever we can wish it to be. Botswana is more important than parties and parties are more important than individuals and individuals are more important than their positions. Things are in that descending order of importance. What is worrying now is that positions seem to be deemed to be more important than the party and the party more important than the country.”