Botswana President Ian Khama
Staff Writer
THE ongoing feud between Botswana President Ian Khama and his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe shows no signs of abating as the duo hogged the limelight by snubbing each other during Tuesday’s golden independence jubilee celebrations.
The two leaders attended the celebrations held at Setsoto Stadium along with Swaziland’s King Mswati III. Mr Mugabe, who arrived later than the other leaders, was heartily welcomed by King Mswati III. However, Dr Khama did not acknowledge the nonagenarian leader’s presence and remained firmly glued to his seat while staring into the ground.
The two leaders have had a long-running feud after Dr Khama broke ranks with his Southern African Development Community peers by publicly reprimanding Mr Mugabe for gross human rights violations and electoral fraud to remain in power uninterrupted for 36 years since independence from Britain in 1980.
A fortnight ago, Dr Khama told Reuters news agency it was time for Mr Mugabe (92) to step aside without delay and allow new leadership of a country whose political and economic implosion since 2000 was dragging down the whole of southern Africa.
Asked if Mr Mugabe should accept the reality of his advanced age and retire, Dr Khama (63) said: “Without doubt. He should have done it years ago. They have got plenty of people there who have got good leadership qualities who could take over.”
Mr Mugabe frequently refers to himself as “fit as a fiddle” and hints at a desire to stay in power until he is 100. However, Dr Khama was pessimistic of Mr Mugabe’s ability to improve the country’s situation.
“It is obvious that at his age and the state Zimbabwe is in, he is not really able to provide the leadership that could get it out of its predicament.
“We are talking about a 92-year old man and there is just so much you can do at that age to try and keep up.”
The Botswana leader also emphasised that no leader should cling on to power for more than two terms.
“My opinion has always been that 10 years leading any kind of organisation — not just a country or a government, any organisation — is pretty much the maximum.”
Dr Khama said the instability was damaging Botswana’s efforts to wean itself off mining — which accounts for 20 percent of GDP and nearly 60 percent of exports — by promoting itself as a regional logistics and services hub.
The unrest was also forcing more and more Zimbabweans to leave the country, he added.
For his part, Mr Mugabe’s government has accused Botswana of providing paramilitary training to opposition “bandits” to destabilise Zimbabwe an accusation Mr Khama has vehemently denied. So intense have been the tensions between the two countries that in 2008 Botswana prepared for a military invasion from its neighbour.
Mr Mugabe also snubbed Botswana’s 50th independence celebrations held last Friday.
During its 50 years since independence, Botswana has emerged as a politically and economically stable nation that has used its mineral wealth prudently — a rarity on a continent where such treasures have been routinely squandered, stolen or the cause of civil war.
Dr Khama’s second five-year term in office ends in 2018 when he will hand over to Vice-President Mokgweetsi Masisi in a carefully scripted political succession.
After 2018, Dr Khama, a keen nature-lover, said he wanted to dedicate his time to tourism and conservation.
