- Has until mid-2023 to return
- TK unlikely to seek re-election in 2024
- Is barred from attending Parliament from outside Botswana
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
The MP for Serowe West, Tshekedi Khama, is unlikely to return to Botswana for his constituency work any time soon.
TK, as he is more commonly known, fled the country in March 2022 following his arrest for alleged corruption and interrogation by the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS).
Standing Orders
According to sources, he is not likely to come back any time soon, which could result in him losing his parliamentary seat.
Parliament ruled last month that MPs who are out of the country cannot participate in virtual parliamentary proceedings. In addition, Standing Orders state that an MP who misses three parliamentary sittings automatically loses their seat, resulting in a bye-election to fill the vacancy. As things stand, Tk has been in self-imposed exile for over 4 months.
Contacted for comment yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), TK said he was engaged and would revert to this publication but never did. A phone call to the official spokesman of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), Lawrence Ookeditse, was unanswered at the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, sources close to TK say he may not run for re-election to Parliament in the 2024 general elections. He has been MP for Serowe West since the 2009 national elections.
Fallout
TK, his wife Thea and their children, as well as his elder brother former president Ian Khama, have all fled Botswana. They believe the government is out to harass and arrest members of the Khama family after a fallout ensued between President Mokgweetsi Masisi and former president Khama when the latter allegedly made outlandish demands that President Masisi would not meet.