Former Botswana President, Khama Backs Opposition Candidate Against His Successor

Former Botswana President, Ian Khama on Monday told his supporters that he was supporting the opposition against the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the country’s forthcoming elections.

Khama told a gathering in the northeastern village of Serowe, where he is a  paramount chief that he was switching support from the BDP to opposition alliance, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ahead of the October general elections.

Khama, who handed power to his then-deputy, Mokgweetsi Masisi last year after serving as president of the diamond-rich southern African nation for a decade has since quit BDP.

“I came here to tell you that I am cutting ties with the BDP as I do not recognize this party anymore. It was a mistake to choose Masisi as my successor. I will now work with the opposition to make sure that the BDP loses power in October,” Khama said.

The policy feud with his hand-picked successor which has deepened in recent times is threatening to split the ruling party which has ruled the country since its independence in 1966.

Masisi, the third person from outside the Khama political dynasty to lead Botswana since independence from Britain,has clashed repeatedly with his former ally since he took over power.

Their latest disagreement was over Masisi’s decision to lift the suspension on big game hunting which was imposed by Khama’s government in 2014.

In the 2014 general election, the BDP failed for the first time to score an outright majority as the country struggled to make its ailing economy less reliant on diamond sales.