Khama attacks unwarranted – Swartz
President Ian Khama’s lieutenants came with their guns blazing as they defended him when debating his State of the Nation address last week.
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They warned against waging attacks against the President.
Some of the senior officials who spoke in defence of Khama were the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Ndelu Seretse and the Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Johnnie Swartz.
Swartz said Khama did not attack anyone in his speech, including the opposition. He said Khama’s speech was all-embracing and appealing for unity.
He warned Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Members of Parliament (MPs) not to behave like opposition members.
He said the BDP lost some constituencies due to internal feuds. However, he said, he does not know how the party lost the Kgalagadi South constituency to the Botswana National Front (BNF).
Swartz said it is the BDP members who could destroy the party.
He continued that there is fear that people are being expelled from the civil service, but he does not know what the hullabaloo is all about. “We should be asking why they are being expelled,” he said.
Seretse also expressed concern about attacks on Khama. He called on other politicians to respect Khama as the head of state.
He said if there is need for a constitutional review it should be done with dignity. Seretse said it is not true that Cabinet ministers are against a constitutional review.
He said the Constitution must be reviewed for valid reasons and not just because some people have an axe to grind. He compared the constitution to a foundation of a building.
He said every time when there is a crack in the ceiling, “you do not dismantle the foundation”.
He told the House that the government is looking at the formulating the law reform process.
Seretse called on MPs to represent the views of the voters and not their own interests.
Seretse also took a swipe at politicians who are promoting tribalism. To him, tribalism is a scourge that could wreck the nation. “Tribalism is an enemy of the nation.” He said if people started identifying themselves by their tribes, it would cause chaos in the nation.
Seretse also spoke about nation-building.
Regarding security, the minister said Khama has made it clear in his speech about efforts that will be taken to combat crime.
Contrary to views, he said, Batswana are content about the security measures that are taken to protect them.
He said the government has indicated that the security agencies are there to protect the nation. He noted that if any security agent took the law into his own hands, he would be brought to book.
Seretse said they have disclosed that cases of people who were killed by security agents are being investigated. He revealed that they have referred some of the cases to the prosecution division.
As for the fight against stock theft, he said there are magistrate courts, which are exclusively dealing with such cases. There is also a police section, which is devoted to tackling stock theft cases.
One of the legislators, Slumber Tsogwane, asked him why all the stock theft cases could not be handled by the customary courts. The MP’s concern is that people feel that the magistrate courts are not competent to deal with stock theft cases.
But Seretse said every suspect has a constitutional right to have legal representation. He said stock theft cases could not be confined to the customary courts because the suspects would be deprived of legal representation.
In any event, customary courts have also been trying stock theft cases, the minister said. He spoke about plans to introduce livestock experts who will assist magistrates when presiding over stock theft cases. 