Khama-Masisi Fight: Even peace won’t be enough
Call me pessimist. Call me a hawk. Call me a warmonger. But the one thing, the dear reader cannot accuse me of, is being utopian.
Imagining a world where former president, Ian Khama and President Mokgweetsi Masisi live side by side in peace and tranquillity is a very nice and desirable thought, but how does one even imagine that? It is unimaginable.
In the context of all that has transpired and the ‘point’ we have reached so far, such a thought, is not only utopian, but outright criminal. It is idealism of first order. Too much damage is already done. And the damage is not only collateral, but unquantifiable.
At this juncture, even peace would not be enough to produce a peaceful outcome. In fact, peace is not an option. Khama has pushed, not only President Masisi, but Botswana in its entirety, to the brink.
His unprovoked ‘war’ against Botswana and her interests, has pushed the country to a ‘point of no return.’ Pardon me compatriots, but I am of the view that this ‘war of attrition’ by Khama, must be fought to its logical or illogical
conclusion.
As things stand, Khama has reached a dead-end. The state has him by the balls. He has little or no room to manoeuvre. And as such, there is no strategic incentive on the part of state to seek reconciliation, because there are no strategic derivatives from it.
Khama’s ardent uptake on Masisi’s dark sarcasm on prospects of ‘reconciliation’ is a testimony of his desperate position. And for some weird reason, he even thinks he can dictate not only the pace, but even ‘terms of reference’ for the ‘reconciliation’ talks.
Let us take it from the top.
When Khama picked up a fight with Masisi, he was fully aware of its schismogenesis effect on the population. This was not only reflected in the outcome of the 2019 general elections, but even in the subsequent socio-political and security developments.
We saw concerted efforts from Khama to attempt to ‘incite’ tribal insurrection in Serowe to undermine Botswana’s unity and social cohesion. The collateral was the burning to ashes of Minister Kgotla Autlwetse’s vehicle by village ‘vigilantes.’
Had it not been for prompt response by security services, we could be talking in tongues. Following this, unsurprisingly, the Serowe traditional leadership went eerily quiet, not even a word to condemn the heinous crime. In fact, at the subsequent kgotla meeting, they continued their calls for ‘war’ and hurling insults at Autlwetse. The behaviour displayed by some in the Serowe kgotla is very uncharacteristic of Setswana normative ethics
Since leaving office, Khama has been on a vicious global decampaign tour against Botswana and her interests. In his recent Enca’s Checkpoint interview, which has since been pulled down, probably because it ‘exposed’ Khama for what he is, he narrates of an elaborate conspiracy to kill him while in prison.
Try hard not to laugh, but in this hallucination, there is an ‘inmate’ waiting for him to enter prison gates and stab him to death. Bear in mind, this comes from a guy who wrote to the UN claiming to have survived “polonium poisoning” by DIS.
What boggles the mind is, why would Khama want to reconcile with people, who by his own estimation look determined to kill him? The whole logic throws the discipline of psychiatry into panic.
Khama thinks, his plethora of trivialities, is worthy of our attention. Besides, the last time I checked; the law was the law, because it is the law. And unlike politicians, the law does not wear a coat of many colours.
As things stand, Khama is a fugitive from the law, and there is nothing President Masisi can do to save him from the long arm of the law, lest he qualifies Khama’s relentless narrative that Masisi interferes with the Judiciary.
Khama must not allow desperation to lead him to read too much into Masisi’s beautifully-crafted sarcasm. Otherwise, it would lure him to his certain demise. That was not meant for him, it was for the audience.
Khama cannot now call for reconciliation because he is losing the fight, that is not how it works. That is the preserve of the victor.