Botswana Ex-President Khama Splits Ruling Party With Exit
Botswana's Ex-President Khama Leaves Ruling Party Amid Dispute
(Bloomberg) -- Botswana’s former president, Ian Khama, is leaving the country’s ruling party after months of policy disputes with President Mokgweetsi Masisi, the man he handpicked to succeed him.
Khama announced his decision in front of hundreds of supporters in Serowe, the capital of the country’s largest district, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Gaborone. His move, just five months before general elections, effectively splits the party that has ruled the world’s second-largest diamond producer since independence in 1966.
He said he would support a new party that has reportedly been formed by high-profile disgruntled former Botswana Democratic Party members. “I’m going to join them and they are going to form an alliance with other parties to remove the BDP from power,” Khama said.
After stepping down last year, Khama, a son of the country’s first president Seretse Khama, still wields widespread influence in the country of 2.3 million people. After his speech, party members rushed to the stage to dump their membership cards, vowing that they would follow him.
Public Clashes
Khama and Masisi have clashed publicly since the latter took office last April, beginning with a dispute over entitlements for the former president and extending to Khama’s displeasure with his successor’s reversal of his key policies. Masisi reduced alcohol taxes, lifted the elephant hunting ban and adopted the One-China policy.
Botswana, which has never experienced civil war or a coup, has Africa’s highest credit rating at Moody’s Investors Service. In addition to diamonds it depends on tourism for its foreign exchange earnings.
The BDP dropped to its lowest popular vote in the last general elections in 2014, with analysts blaming Khama’s policies and an authoritarian approach, both within the party and the government. Masisi has publicly said he couldn’t deliver a win for the party in 2019 without overturning some of Khama’s more unpopular policies.
Global Outrage
Khama, in turn, has accused his successor of pursuing populist policies to the detriment of the country, particularly in lifting the hunting ban which Khama put in place in 2014. The ban was officially lifted on Wednesday, sparking immediate global outrage from animal rights groups and conservationists.
Khama said he would soon launch the campaigns of several opposition legislators, starting in the constituency currently held by the Vice President, Slumber Tsogwane.
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With assistance from Bloomberg