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OPINION - As my television set beamed footage of Southern African presidents strolling into the SADC summit meeting in Kinshasa last September, I half expected to see Lt Gen Ian Khama rubbing his eyes in a somewhat sleepy, surprised manner, like a bear coming out of hibernation.

Since his inauguration, the President of Botswana had dropped off the SADC radar. He would emerge every so often to bash Robert Mugabe and try to pitch his position to other regional leaders.

Khama had missed the previous SADC summit in protest against Mugabe’s controversial re-election in Zimbabwe. Only a few months in office, he was caught up in his one man crusade against the Mugabe regime and cut off from the rest of SADC leaders who gladly handed the Zimbabwean leader an ovation as he strode the corridors of the summit delivering colorful ant-British tirades to the assembled international media.

“Botswana does not accept the result of the 27th June 2008 run-off election in Zimbabwe as it violated the core principles of SADC, the African Union and the United Nations,” stated a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was a red rag to Mugabe who bad –mouthed and black–balled Botswana as a lackey of the British imperialists.

Among many SADC leaders, there was a sense that Khama was playing to the gallery of Europe and the United States of America. As a measure of his priorities, last November, for the second year running, Khama skipped a SADC meeting to discuss the Zimbabwean issue and instead attended a Conservation International board of directors meeting in America. While in the US, he met President Barack Obama.

The perception that Botswana’s foreign policy is laced with a strong streak of populist anti-Mugabe sentiments and affinity towards the US and UK has not been helped by Zimbabwean state media’s unsubstantiated reports that Botswana is spreading hate mail against Zimbabwe through the Voice of America relay station in Selibe-Phikwe. The state-owned Herald newspaper further claimed that Botswana was promoting ideas of regime change in Zimbabwe.

Khama could not marshal any major African leader to his corner. Their misty eyed nostalgia saw Mugabe first and foremost as an African liberation leader, regardless of his subsequent appalling human rights abuses.

After weeks of turmoil following the 2008 controversial general elections in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa found itself beset by doubt and insecurity. One of the few certainties, however, was that Lt Gen Khama hardly in office for 100 days would step up to the plate to defend the region’s human rights and democracy. With Zambia’s Levi Mwanawasa then bedridden, Khama shouldered the massive burden of single handedly keeping Mugabe and former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, in check.

Khama found himself punching above his weight. He lacked the gravitas and presence of the region’s giants like Mbeki and Mugabe. Botswana, relatively small in comparison to its huge neighbours, could not be compensated by the international relations experience that Khama’s counterparts brought to the wheeling and dealing.

Khama’s position against Mugabe, however, was the overture to his prime, the single event that, more than any, established him as a figure on the world stage, the only African leader who took a principled stand against Zimbabwe. He won the respect and support of the international community by sneering at Mugabe.

The febrile mood at Botswana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, however, shifted this week as ministers and government officials tried to secure the release of three Botswana wildlife officers who have been arrested in Zimbabwe. The Mugabe administration is rebuffing diplomatic overtures from Gaborone.

“Efforts by Botswana have included phone calls by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Phandu Skelemani and the Botswana Police Commissioner, Mr. Thebeyame Tsimako to their counterparts in Zimbabwe to resolve this issue. These phone calls remain unreturned, giving the impression that the Government of Zimbabwe does not want to discuss this issue with Botswana,” states a press release issued by government on Thursday.

”Additional efforts have included our Ambassador in Harare going to the Zimbabwe Foreign Ministry several times to seek their intervention on the matter as well as the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Botswana being summoned twice to the Foreign Ministry to seek the Zimbabwe Government's intervention in finding an amicable diplomatic solution to the problem. As a last endeavour, His Honour the Vice President, Lieutenant General Mompati Merafhe, attempted, through the Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe, to meet with President Mugabe at the recently held African Union Meeting in Addis Ababa Ethiopia but was unsuccessful.”

The press release further stated that, “In view of the stance taken by the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe to rebuff all attempts by the Government of Botswana to find diplomatic and amicable solution to the problem, Botswana has taken a decision to recall its Defence and Intelligence Attachés from Zimbabwe by the end of February 2010. The Government of the Republic of Botswana expects the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe to reciprocate by recalling its Defence and Central Intelligence Organisation Attachés from Botswana by the same date. The position of the Government of Botswana is that these two posts should be frozen and never to be filled.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Phandu Skelemani, on Friday told Sunday Standard that, “I am aware that the Zimbabwean government is not very happy with our stance on their leadership. We are still on record as saying that the Zimbabweans should go back to the polls to elect a legitimate government. While that might have soured relations between us, it is the truth, and that is what we stand for.”

The three wildlife officers were arrested for straying into Zimbabwe while armed with guns. The wildlife officers, driving in a Botswana government truck were tracking lions that had killed two cows at Lesoma village along the border between the two countries. While Botswana maintains that such incidences occur on a regular basis, especially since there is no erected structure demarcating a major part of the borderline separating the two countries, the Zimbabwean authorities have for the past three weeks detained the three wildlife officials and put them on trial. They are due to be sentenced next week. The three officers are in police custody in Victoria Falls, some 800km from Harare.

"The Zimbabwean authorities have said that they cannot intervene on the issue as the police have taken a decision to prosecute,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Phandu Skelemani.

The minister is steadfast that the Zimbabwean authorities’ decision is unfounded because Botswana government security personnel have in the past sent back armed Zimbabwean security personnel who had strayed into Botswana without charging them. There are reports that some Zimbabwean security personnel were arrested by Botswana police while in the possession of ivory, but were later allowed to go back home to stand trial.

Skelemani and Minister of Agriculture Christiaan De Graaf have also narrated incidences where they saw Zimbabwean soldiers crossing into Botswana at Ramokgwebana River, and peacefully instructed them to go back to their home country.

”We did this because we understand that there is no clear border fence in larger part of the Botswana-Zimbabwe border,” said Skelemani on Friday. “We have a foot and mouth problem which both countries have been cooperating to deal with effectively. We have joint border patrols that deal with crime and other problems like poaching. Their response at this time is very surprising,” he said.

Botswana, however, is unlikely to find a sympathetic ear among other SADC leaders. Political watchers who warned that Botswana’s “isolationist” position was not sustainable argue that the chickens are finally coming home to roost.

The Khama administration has veered away from Mogae’s foreign policy, who together with the rest of the SADC presidents marched to the beat of the same drummer and preached “silent diplomacy.” The new administration finds itself on unchartered territory. While SADC and the AU recognized Mugabe’s new government since its first day in office, Botswana was blunt in its criticism.

The relationship between Botswana and Zimbabwe was further complicated by threats from the Zimbabwean President. In anticipation of trouble spilling over from Zimbabwe, Botswana last year deployed an army brigade with artillery to patrol its border with Zimbabwe. In response to Botswana’s military build up, Mugabe warned neighbouring countries to ‘think twice’ before launching an attack against his regime.

SWRadioAfrica, a radio station run by Mugabe’s exiled former broadcasters at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and broadcasting from the UK, quoted analysts saying Mugabe’s statement could be viewed as a direct threat to Botswana.

Mugabe warned his neighbours to be careful about provoking his government.

“If there are some who may want to fight us, they should think twice. We don’t intend to fight any neighbours. We are a peaceful country, but if there is a country, a neighbouring country that is itching for a fight, ah, then let them try it.”

The United States of America, European Union joined the fray in support of Botswana’s position while South Africa, which has dithered on the Zimbabwean issue, remained non committal alongside Russia and China, which was attempting to ship armaments to the troubled country.

Skelemani is confident that the diplomatic spat will not affect trade relations between Botswana and Zimbabwe. A recent study revealed that, after South Africa, Zimbabwe is Botswana’s second biggest trading partner.

The government of Botswana recently forked out P500 million to help bolster the ailing Zimbabwean economy.

Last year the government of Botswana, through the Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) sent a delegation to Zimbabwe.

”They will meet government, private sector, and critical parastatals as well as big companies that might want to be revived. We have not yet decided how much credit we are prepared to offer Zimbabwe. We still need to compile information, and we will then decide on the course of action,” said the then Minister of Finance Baledzi Gaolathe. This article was first published in the Sunday Standard (Botswana)

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