Kgafela’s radical reforms for Bakgatla
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The exiled Bakgatla paramount chief, Kgosi Kgafela II has proposed some radical reforms to his tribesmen who had visited Moruleng recently.
The self-exiled chief, while endorsing Kgosi Bana Sekai as his replacement this past week told the tribal leadership to implement certain radical reforms in his absence in a bid to instill discipline and pride within the tribe. Kgafela is said to have made it clear that he wants to make the tribe the envy of other tribes, by making it sovereign and disciplined.
Kgafela ordered his regiment, Mangana at a meeting last Saturday at Kgabutle, South Africa. The purpose of the meeting was to give the regiment an opportunity to present Kgosi Bana Sekai to Kgosi Kgafela II after the government decided to reinstate him as the deputy Kgosi. He will also represent Bakgatla at Ntlo ya Dikgosi.
“We went to present Kgosi Sekai and he accepted him of which we will be having a huge ceremony this Saturday (today). We will further tomorrow (Sunday) have another ceremony in Moruleng as part of our year ending ceremony where Sekai will be presented that side,” Mangana regiment leader, Moagi Molebatsi said. The meeting was attended by the regiment from Botswana, Kgafela, Kgosi Ramphothetu, Segale Lentswe, Lekoba Lentswe as well as Kgosi Bana Sekai.
Kgafela was happy about the good work done by his peers and promised to celebrate them in future. “Mophato should do something for the tribe and this is one of the achievements which will be our legacy. In short Mokgatla is happy for what we did by pushing government to re-instate Kgosi Sekai as our representative at Ntlo ya Dikgosi,” said Molebatsi who has been very involved in the matters affecting Kgosi Kgafela and the Botswana government.
REGIMENT TO RESUME FLOGGINGS
Another controversial subject that dominate at the meeting between the maverick Kgafela II and his regiment is the issue of floggings. Kgafela ordered his regiment to begin the infamous floggings that saw him flee to South Africa in 2012. He gave some to do list which the tribal leadership still working on. “We will continue to remove delinquents from Kgatleng. Zero tolerance of drugs and other illicit behaviors,” Molebatsi said before adding. “Re tloo letsa moretlwa kgabo, but it is not like we are shining about it we want to instill law in our tribe of which after some time others will bench mark here.”
The flogging of members of the public in Kgatleng which were carried out by Kgafela’s regiments, is the main reason why he exiled to Moruleng. However, this time around the regiment is aware of government’s position on the matter and “will follow all the necessary processes”.
“This time around we will agree with government on the formula. Already we have been engaging the council through by-laws, Councillors and Members of Parliament and we are still in talks with them but soon we will be correcting Kgatleng.”
KGAFELA WANTS LAND RIGHTS
As is the aspiration of Batlokwa in Tlokweng, Bakgatla also want a land quota system in which the indigenous community should be given preferable treatment. During discussions with Kgafela last Saturday, a decision was taken to audit the Bakgatla land before confronting the government. “The land issue is a concern to us. Our land is stolen from us, we wish what Batlokwa pleaded for could happen even here, beng-gae should be considered first rather than outsiders getting the land at the expense of the locals,” Molebatsi stressed.
On land issues, the government appears to be in total control through Land Boards, however Bakgatla believe that it is time they wake up as their land is continuously being taken away from them, they argue that what compound their situation further is the fact that they are in close proximity to the capital city which is expanding in their direction.
Molebatsi was quoted cautioning government on mismanagement of land saying in future it could cause conflicts, which could plunge the country into civil unrest. He said the implementation of developments by Government should not be at the expense of Bakgatla, whose land is expropriated by the state and sold off to foreigners. Developments in Kgatleng should be done to benefit the tribe, he emphasized.
BAKGATLA TO TELL KHAMA ALL IN FEBRUARY
Kgafela was also informed his audience at the meeting that President Lieutenant General Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama will bid his tribe farewell on the 15th of February. He indicated that the meeting will be tell-all from Bakgatla leadership to Khama who is somehow regarded as the monster who scared their Kgosi away. “We will advise the President on a number of issues he did not handle well during his reign and we will advise him accordingly on how he could have managed them,” the soft spoken Molebatsi said on Wednesday evening.
He however could not be drawn into discussing what the President did not handle well. Asked whether they are negotiating with Khama for Kgafela to return, he said; “Mokgatla and President are talking at personal level and it is not like he hates him (Khama) things will normalize,” he diplomatically said. The tensions between Bakgatla and government escalated in 2012 with a number of criminal charges laid against Kgafela and some of his tribesmen. He later fled to South Africa and government took a decision to de-recognize him as Bakgatla Kgosi.
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DPP drops Kably threat to kill case
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Letlhakeng/Lephephe Liakat Kably has welcomed the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s decision not to prosecute BDP councillor, Meshack Tshenyego who allegedly threatened to kill him. However, the legislator has warned that should anything happen to his life, the state and the courts will have to account.
In an interview with this publication, Kablay said he has heard that the DPP has declined to prosecute Tshenyego in a case in which he threatened to kill him adding that the reasons he received are that there was not enough evidence to prosecute. “I am fine and at peace with the decision not to prosecute over evidential deficits but I must warn that should anything happen to my life both the DPP and the Magistrate will have to account,” Kablay said.
Connectedly, Kably said he has made peace with Tshenyego, “we have made peace and he even called me where upon we agreed to work for the party and bury the hatchet”.
The DPP reportedly entered into a Nolle Prosequi in the matter, meaning that no action would be taken against the former Letlhakeng Sub-district council chairperson and currently councillor for Matshwabisi.
According to the charge sheet before the Court, councilor Tshenyego on July 8th, 2022 allegedly threatened MP Kably by indirectly uttering the following words to nominatedcouncilor Anderson Molebogi Mathibe, “Mosadi wa ga Liakat le ban aba gagwe ba tsile go lela, Mosadi wame le banake le bone ba tsile go lela. E tla re re mo meeting, ka re tsena meeting mmogo, ke tla mo tlolela a bo ke mmolaya.”
Loosely translated this means, Liakat’s wife and children are going to shed tears and my wife and kids will shed tears too. I will jump on him and kill him during a meeting.
Mathibe is said to have recorded the meeting and forwarded it to Kably who reported the matter to the police.
In a notice to the Magistrate Court to have the case against Tshenyego, acting director of Public Prosecutions, Wesson Manchwe cited the nolle prosequi by the director of public prosecution in terms of section 51 A (30) of the Constitution and section 10 of the criminal procedure and evidence act (CAP 08:02) laws of Botswana as reasons for dropping the charges.
A nolle prosequi is a formal notice of abandonment by a plaintiff or prosecutor of all or part of a suit or action.
“In pursuance of my powers under section 51 A (300 of the Constitution and section 10 of the criminal procedure and evidence act (CAP 08:02) laws of Botswana, I do hereby stop and discontinue criminal proceedings against the accused Meshack Tshenyego in the Kweneng Administrative District, CR.No.1077/07/2022 being the case of the State vs Tshenyego,” said Manchwe. The acting director had drafted the notice dropping the charges on 13th day of March 2023.
The case then resumed before the Molepolole Magistrate Solomon Setshedi on the 14th of March 2023. The Magistrate issued an order directing “that matters be withdrawn with prejudice to the State, accused is acquitted and discharged.”
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DPP seizes prosecution duties from Police
Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has finally taken over prosecution from the Botswana Police Service (BPS). The police have been prosecuting for years, but the takeover means that they will now only focus on investigations and then hand over to the DPP for prosecution.
Talks of complete takeover began as far back as 2008, but for years it seemed implementation was sluggish. However, the Minister of Justice, Machana Shamukuni, revealed that the complete takeover is expected to be completed soon.
During a presentation to the Committee of Supply by Shamukuni this week, it was revealed that the project has been implemented in 22 police stations nationwide, including Maun, Selebi-Phikwe, Palapye, Francistown, and Kasane. He further stated that the project has been allocated P3,000,000 for the 2023/2024 financial year to facilitate the opening of more satellite offices for the DPP.
Shamukuni said the Lobatse station is scheduled for a complete takeover by the end of May 2023, while the Kasane DPP satellite office has been established and became operational as of February 1, 2023.
“As reported previously, preparations are at an advanced stage to open a satellite office in Tsabong to curtail expenses, as well as frequent long-distance trips to these areas, as it is currently serviced by the Lobatse DPP office,” Shamukuni said.
Shamukuni said that the takeover strategy is to enable a seamless and gradual takeover of prosecution from the BPS without overwhelming and overstretching the thin resources at its disposal.
According to Shamukuni, the implementation of the prosecution takeover project has increased the workload of the 211 prosecutors in the DPP establishment.
Furthermore, the Justice Minister said DPP statistics show that the DPP has a total of 11,903 cases and dockets as of January 2023. He indicated that this is a significant increase in the number of cases being handled by the DPP, considering that in November 2021, the DPP had just over 8,471 files.
“Out of the total case load, 8 382 are cases pending before various courts while 3521 are dockets received from law enforcement agencies of which 1 325 are awaiting service of summons while the rest are being assessed for suitability of prosecution or otherwise” said Shamukuni.
He further stated that The DPP has consistently maintained an 80% success rate in matters completed at court.
“As at the end of January 2023, the success rate stood at 82.3% against a target of 90% whilst the average performance in respect of turnaround time for conclusion of cases at court stood at 17.5 months against a target of 18 months,” he said.
BACKLOG OF CASES – LAND TRIBUNAL
Meanwhile, Minister Shamukuni has revealed that Gaborone land Tribunal is experiencing a backlog of cases. Before parliament this week, Shamukuni revealed that a total 230 appeals were completed for the period of April 2022- December 2022 and only 76.5% of them were completed within set time frame.
The minister said that the Gaborone division has experiencing a backlog of cases due to manpower constraints and he further indicated that presiding officers from other divisions have been brought in to expedite case disposal.
He further indicated that the land tribunal is a specialized court that has been empowered to resolve appeals arising from land boards. “It has been mandated to determine appeals from the decisions of Physical planning committees of Districts Councils” said Shamukuni.
Land Tribunal relocated to the Ministry of Justice from Ministry of Land and Water Affairs in November 2022.
“An amount of P37, 842,670 is requested to cover salaries, allowance and other operational expenses for the Department of the land Tribunal,” alluded Shamukuni
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BCP, AP stalemate in 7 constituencies
When the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Alliance for Progressives, Botswana Labour Party (BLP), and conveners reconvene next week, the controversial issue of allocation of the seven constituencies will be the main topic of discussion, WeekendPost can reveal.
Not only that, but the additional four constituencies will also dominate the talks. The idea is to finally close the “constituency allocation phase,” which has proven to be the most difficult part of the ongoing negotiations.
Earlier this year, the two parties announced that the marathon talks would be concluded by February. Even at a media briefing last month, BCP Secretary General Goretetse Kekgonegile and Publicity Secretary Dr. Mpho Pheko were optimistic that the negotiations would be concluded before the end of February.
However, it is now mid-March and the talks have yet to be concluded. What could be the reasons for the delay? This is a question that both Kekgonegile and Pheko have not responded to, as they have ignored the reporters’ inquiries. However, a senior figure within the party has confided to this publication as to what is delaying the highly anticipated negotiations.
“We are reconvening next week to finalize constituency allocations, taking into account the additional four new ones plus the outstanding seven,” he explained. It later surfaced that Gaborone Central, Gaborone North, Mogoditshane, Tswapong North, Francistown West, Tati West, and Nata Gweta are all contested by both BCP and AP. This is because the other 50 constituencies were allocated by December of last year.
The three parties have failed to find common ground for the Bosele Ward by-elections. Are these constituencies not a deal breaker for the talks? “None of the constituencies is a deal breaker,” responded a very calm BCP official.
In Bosele Ward, AP has yielded to BCP, despite most of its members disapproving the decision. On the other hand, BLP has refused, and it will face off with BCP together with Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The decision by BLP to face off with BCP has been labelled as a false start for the talks by political observers.