Gobotswang hits back at Masisi for calling him a lunatic

Member of Parliament (MP) for Sefhare-Ramokgonami Kesetegile Gobotswang has fired back at President Mokgweetsi Masisi for suggesting that he (Gobotswang) is a lunatic.

When addressing members of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) at the party’s elective congress held in Tsabong this past weekend, Masisi said, “The construction of a pipeline bringing water from the north south carrier to several villages in the Tswapong area is nearing completion - under the BDP. Yole Gobotswang a seka a pekela mo go lona.”

“Masisi has bad manners, he is an embarrassment to us as a nation. Power has intoxicated him beyond redemption, o nthoketse botho, unprovoked for that matter,” fired Gobotswang this week.

Gobotswang said the president needs to respect other people irrespective of age, gender, economic, social or political status.

“Motswana o rile susu ilela suswana gore suswana a go ilele. First of all I don’t have a mental problem. I don’t have a history of the condition either,” said Gobotswang.

The MP escalated the matter further, saying it was very shameful for a whole Head of State to talk like Masisi, using words associated with problems of mental health in such an unflattering manner. He said, "Given the prevalence of mental health in Botswana, it is possible that there are some individuals in the president’s cabinet who have a history of mental health."

Gobotswang said that it was even possible for Masisi to be having health conditions that he will not like people knowing about. “I challenge him to lay open his medical records, I will do the same,” he said.

Gobotswang suspects that Masisi attacked him in Tsabong because of an urgent question he submitted to Parliament in which he wanted the minister of State President to explain why Masisi found it acceptable to go on a private leave in the midst of the rising cost of living and the water crisis in the Tswapong area.

The Tswapong MP was worried that residents of Maape, Ramokgonami, Tumasera and Seleka in particular were without water for close to three months. He also wanted the minister to list all places Masisi visited during the holiday and how much it cost the taxpayer.

However, his question never reached the floor of Parliament because on the same day he wanted to ask the question, government released a statement informing the public that the president was on private leave.

“The people of Botswana deserve to know, Masisi must answer these questions and stop being disrespectful to me."