- All I see is madness- says Skelemani
- Why should Khama act like Kgosi’s guardian?-he asks
- Says Ian Kirby and his bench don’t know interpretation of law
SONNY SERITE
Outspoken former Attorney General Phandu Skelemani who is also a former Cabinet Minister and Member for Parliament has described as ludicrous former President Ian Khama’s reported intentions to instigate a legal suit against President Mokgweetsi Masisi over his refusal to hire former DIS Director General Isaac Kgosi as his private secretary and place him once again into the public service.
Following Masisi’s administration’s refusal to grant Khama’s request to have Kgosi as his Private Secretary, the former president had, through his lawyers Toteng and Company issued a Statutory Notice to the Attorney Generals Chambers expressing his intention to challenge Masisi’s decision. A weekend newspaper has however reported that Khama has instructed his lawyers to put the case on hold.
In an interview on Thursday on the side-lines of Ambassador Earl Miller’s farewell party, the no blows barred former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation described his former boss (Khama)’s actions as devoid of any legal or principled wisdom. ‘‘You know I have supported many of the decisions made by Khama in the past but with this one ke bona botsenwa hela’’ (all I see is madness), he said in reference to Khama’s intentions to sue Masisi.
Skelemani said it was surprising that Khama would want to sue for problems that are not his but Kgosi’s. ‘‘Ga kere the person who is being denied employment here is Kgosi? So why can’t Kgosi sue by himself without Khama assuming the role of his guardian?’’, Skelemani asked rhetorically. He said he would support Kgosi if he was the one suing government because he is the only person who deserves to know why he cannot be employed back into government.
Turning to the judiciary, Skelemani expressed his disappointment at the interpretation of law by the judges in Botswana’s courts of law. He said he has watched in disbelief some of the judgments from the courts which he said reflect how the judges make wrong interpretations of the law. ‘‘Bo Kirby (Ian) are making wrong interpretations of the law’’, he said about Ian Kirby who is president of the Court of Appeal and a former Attorney General like Skelemani. He reiterated what he told the Botswana Gazette in previous interview that he had offered his services to the judiciary but his offer was ignored by the Judicial Services Commission.
‘‘Yes, I had offered my services for six months because I wanted to help the judiciary with the backlog of cases they are currently swamped with’’, Skelemani revealed. Asked why he was not venturing into private practice where he would get the opportunity to utilise his legal acumen, Skelemani said he felt he would be more helpful as part of the bench. ‘‘Besides, venturing into private practice would mean starting with small cases and these criminals do not really have money’’, the 73 year old lawyer said.