Buhari hopes to give Nigerians a clean slate
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Over the years, Africa has been moving slowly towards democracy both in government and politics. Southern Africa has been a leader, holding elections and replacing presidents in an orderly manner that was mostly violence free. Zambia, Malawi and Namibia did it successfully.
But democracy has always eluded Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous state with over 186 million people.
However, democratic elections held in that country over the weekend saw Nigeria score a historic first – that of an elected president being replaced by yet another elected president.
Nigeria, notorious for military coups in the past, fooled the world and managed to stage not only democratic elections but generally peaceful ones with the defeated president courteously calling the incoming president to concede defeat while at the same time urging his supporters to accept the results and assist the incoming government in any way possible.
The world’s fears are rooted in the past political behaviour of Nigeria when military generals took turns to stage one coup d'état after another.
It is precisely because of that track record that the world did not believe Nigeria and the sincerity to hold democratic elections and, if they did, would witness post-election violence.
But all went well.
Muhammadu Buhari, a former Major General in the Nigerian Army, overthrew a civilian government led by Shehu Shagari in December 1983. His reign was, however brief because after about 20 months, he too was overthrown by Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985.
His dictatorship was notorious for what became known as “war on discipline” and saw, for example, soldiers whipping people at bus stops for not standing in a bus queue in an orderly manner.
His rule was accused of severe human rights violations.
So, the 72-year-old former military strongman, who has declared that he, is now a born again democrat, takes over the reins of power at the end of May.
Buhari managed to convince Nigerian voters that he is a reformed man who respects civil liberties. He campaigned on promises to deal with the deteriorating security situation in the northern part of the country and also promised to deal with corruption.
In a country plagued by corruption, insurgency and economic melancholy, critics argue that Buhari’s austerity could just be what Nigeria urgently needs. That he is a reformed dictator remains to be seen.
Sceptics can altogether be forgiven for not trusting the self-professed born again democrat. Déjà vu attacks those old enough to remember the dark days of Buhari’s reign. His insipid human rights track record, like a bad dream, will always come back to haunt him and the rest of the country.
He has a lot of work to do in bringing Nigeria on the right track while at the same time he convinces his fellow Nigerians and the world that he is a changed man.
His war on discipline campaign rubbed many human rights groups the wrong way. During this reign, says Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the war against indiscipline was taken to sadistic levels, glorifying the humiliation of a lot of citizens.
Indeed, his rule saw at least 500 politicians, officials and businessmen imprisoned during a campaign against corruption and waste. Critics of the regime, including musician Fela Kuti, were also jailed.
Buhari’s laws never allowed for trial but indefinite detention.
Other dire lows of his tenure include his imposing of a decree to restrict press freedom, under which journalists were imprisoned.
The controversial leader is also remembered for sending his army men to the streets to enforce discipline. Soldiers with whips would enforce traffic regulations, and civil servants were subjected to frog jumps for arriving late at work.
Also, during his pursuit of discipline, tens of thousands of immigrants from other West African countries were expelled.
Fast forward to 2015, three decades down the line, questions about the dictator now turned democrat echo now, more than ever.
Not only Nigeria but the world is holding its breath because Nigeria cannot go back to those old days. Nigeria cannot afford to be wrecked by any form of instability.
For many Nigerians, though, there is greater consolation: his military background might go a long way in restoring the nation’s security issues, especially against the Boko Haram Islamists, who have terrorized northern Nigeria for more than a decade now.
“Before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time,” Buhari was quoted as saying in earlier media reports.
He worked hard to allay fears over his past.
He added: "It's a question of security. Whether I was a former military officer or a politician through and through, when there is insecurity of this scale in the country, that takes the priority."
In February, he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: “The misappropriation of resources provided by the government for weapons means the Nigerian military is unable to beat Boko Haram." he told.
While Islamist insurgency could have led to the whole nation placing its hope in the self-styled born-again democrat, it remains to be seen how he progresses.
It is worth the wait as yet another former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo has practically made himself available to Buhari saying in a congratulatory letter that he was ready to assist.
There are, indeed, a lot of expectations to manage for the president-elect.
Buhari has walked into a failing economy, with dropping oil prices, economic stagnation amid tales of corruption and misappropriation of resources.
There is no doubt that a new page has been turned by the people of Nigeria, and one can only imagine their hopes and expectations for their new president, for their country and for their region.
The economy, Boko Haram, corruption, declining oil revenue and many other issues need attention.
So it is not going to be all fun and games for the 72-year-old president-elect.
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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.