Botswana President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has angrily responded to recent accusations by former President Ian Khama, who is now living in exile in South Africa.
The response also comes after Khama’s twin brothers were arrested without any reasons being given on the streets of Botswana.
Writing in a statement that was posted on Facebook , President Masi did not directly address the arrest of Khama’s brothers.
The statement said:
PRESS RELEASE
The Office of the President is aware of the recent allegations by the Former President of the Republic of Botswana H.E. Lieutenant General Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, on the general governance situation prevailing in Botswana.
Members of the public are reminded that allegations made by the Former President to the effect that there is regression of the democratic values in Botswana are not only unfounded but also misleading and to a large extent a distortion of the reality on the ground.
Furthermore, it should be stated categorically that the Botswana Government remains committed to the rule of law, good governance, democracy and respect of human rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The Government of Botswana gives respect to all Former Heads of State, including H.E. Lt. Gen. Dr. Khama.
To this end, Dr. Khama’s rights and civil liberties are recognised and protected by the Botswana Constitution which has served us well for over five decades.
In addition, H.E. Lt. Gen. Dr. Khama continues to enjoy all his entitlements in accordance with the existing legal instruments.
However, it is unfortunate that Dr. Khama’s utterances have the potential to tarnish the good image of this great country.
The Government of Botswana is rather perturbed by H.E Dr. Khama’s launching of persistent attacks on the State both locally and externally which is rather peculiar for a Former Head of State.
These attacks and insinuations have a calculated effect of obscuring the necessary attention to issues of compliance with the law that is expected of every citizen, including from high ranking political figureheads.
We wish to state for the record that all allegations and disparaging remarks levelled against the current Head of State, His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi are untrue and without basis.
The Office of the President wishes to remind members of the public that His Excellency the President Dr. Masisi remains steadfast in providing visionary leadership and focusing the agenda of his administration on the welfare of Batswana as evidenced by the latest positive rankings by the international agencies that deal with good governance, human rights and development issues.
John-Thomas Dipowe
ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY – BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
