26 Jun 2017

He laughed. He danced. He loved. He worked selflessly  to build Botswana. He gave himself to the African continent and the world. Truly Sir Ketumile Quett Joni Masire lived for a purpose.

Sir Ketumile Masire, who passed away on Thursday night just after 10 pm, a month shy of his 92nd birthday, helped shape the destiny of independent Botswana.

Labelled “the architect of Botswana’s stability,” in an online BBC obituary, Sir Ketumile contributed immensely to the country emerging from being one of the world’s 10 poorest, least developed states at independence to being a middle-income state.

Botswana became an island of peace and democracy amidst the turbulent sea of instability that characterised the formative years of post-colonial Africa. Described as “a humble giant whose exemplary life has made all of us proudly African,” by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, Sir Ketumile distinguished himself as a statesman.

As the country emerges from a three-day period of mourning, Pako Lebanna looks at the life of Botswana’s second president (in office 1980-1998), who was also the founding Vice President and Minister of Finance and Development Planning (1966-1980).

Born Quett Ketumile Joni Masire on July 23 1925 in Kanye, and educated in his home village and at the Tiger Kloof Educational Institute in South Africa, Sir Ketumile distinguished himself from an early age.

He was raised in an environment of little modern resources. Colonial era Botswana (Bechuanaland Protectorate), was a country with low literacy levels, very little in the way of modern portable water or electrical facilities, and just a small stretch of tarred road inherited at independence. Communal subsistence farming and low paid migrant labour in the South African mines was the occupational purview of most Batswana men of Sir Ketumile’s generation.

Having distinguished himself as a learner, Sir Ketumile helped found the Seepapitso Secondary School in Kanye, serving as the school’s headmaster and also becoming a leading farmer. He also worked as a journalist, reporting for the African Echo/Naledi ya Botswana newspaper.

Having been elected into the Bangwaketse Tribal Council, Sir Ketumile proceeded to become a part of the national Legislative Council (LEGCO), which met at Lobatse in the early to mid 1960s to pave way for independence.

Sir Ketumile was instrumental in the formation of the Botswana Democratic Party, alongside Sir Seretse Khama, Moutlakgola Nwako, Amos Dambe, Englishman Kgabo, Tsheko Tsheko, Gaefalale Sebeso among others. The BDP was formally launched in 1962, two years after Motsamai Mpho, Kgalemang Motsete, Klass Motshidisi and others formed the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).

Later joined by Philip Matante, the BPP located itself as part of the continental Pan-Africanist independence movement. The BDP  Ω focused on building consultative democracy and a market economy.

Sir Ketumile served as the first secretary general of the BDP, and traversed the length and breadth of Botswana canvassing support for the party, which won the first general election in March 1965. In early 1965, Sir Ketumile was part of a delegation, which included Prime Minister Sir Seretse Khama, opposition leader Phillip Matante and dikgosi representative Kgosi Bathoen II, who negotiated Botswana’s final draft constitution in London.

During the transitional period of nominal self-government (1965-1966), Sir Ketumile served as the deputy prime minister of Bechuanaland Protectorate, before becoming Botswana’s first vice president and minister of Finance and Development Planning at independence in September 1966. Botswana’s prospects looked bleak. The country was highly underdeveloped, even by the African standards of the time.

The discovery of diamonds and other mineral resources after independence helped transform the country.

But experience elsewhere in the developing world, showed that without diligent leadership, such resources could spark national crises often termed ‘the resource curse.’ Sir Ketumile helped shape Botswana’s policy formulation as the head of the national treasury, and the second in command of the national political leadership.

National Development Plans (NDP) coordinated national spending, and natural resources were harnessed for spending in healthcare, education, tarred roads, portable water and electricity. Upon the unfortunate passing away through illness of the country’s founding president Sir Seretse Khama, the mantle of president fell to Sir Ketumile on July 18 1980. He would go to become the longest serving Botswana president over an 18-year period, leading the BDP to electoral triumph in the 1984, 1989 and 1994 general elections.

The 1996 electoral reforms instituted a constitutional two-term limit of a maximum 10 years, and Sir Ketumile stepped down from power in 1998, having overseen the adoption of the national Vision 2016 in 1996.

Under his leadership Botswana had enjoyed economic growth rate at par with the Asian Tigers- Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, who enjoyed remarkable economic growth rates from the 1960s to the 1990s.

With diamond mining proving a crucial revenue earner, the state negotiated a partnership with De Beers, with each entity owning a 50 percent stake in Debswana Diamond Company Limited, a partnership with increased revenue the government accrued from the diamond trade.

Ordinary Batswana interacted with Sir Ketumile through kgotla meeting consultations, where he was famed for his oratory gift of the gab.

During state house functions, he was known to enjoy dancing to popular Swahill  song, Shauri Yako, sung by Orchestra Super Mazembe. Sir Ketumile governed Botswana during the 1980s and 1990s, when the national private press titles such as the Botswana Guardian, Mmegi, the Gazette and Midweek Sun emerged, often scrutinizing and exposing the limitations of those in leadership.

This era also saw the rise in the popularity of the Botswana National Front (BNF), a party that had been founded after the 1965 polls by Dr Kenneth Koma. Initially popular in Sir Ketumile’s Kanye home owing to Bangwaketse ruler Bathoen II joining the Front in the late 1960s, BNF popularity in urban areas gained currency in the 1980s and 1990s, powered by popular freedom square orators such as Maitshwarelo Dabutha, Paul Rantao and Gilson Saleshando.

Organised labour also became proactive, with a major manual workers strike taking place in 1991, led by unionist Johnson Motshwarakgole.

A democrat to the core, Sir Ketumile viewed such public dissent as part of the nature of the democratic state. He embodied the words inscribed in the biography of French Enlightenment writer Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

He consulted opposition leaders such as Koma, Knight Maripe, Daniel Kwele and Motsamai Mpho through the All Party Conference. Sir Ketumile often travelled on official trips abroad with opposition MPs.

His government (Unity Dow v Attorney General, 1991) and party (Tshiamo Ballot Box, 1984), accepted court decisions that went against them, adding to public trust in the rule of law and the judiciary as an independent arbiter.

Sir Ketumile’s government sought to boost investment and domestic entrepreneurship through the Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) and the Botswana Enterprise Development Unit (BEDU) among other policies.

The state also intervened through agricultural programmes such as the Accelerated Rainfed Arable Programme (ARAP), Arable Lands Development Programme (ALDEP) and Services to Livestock Owners in Communal Areas (SLOCA).

Sir Ketumile was the longest serving chairman of the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC, now SADC), and a one time vice chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, now AU). He was one of the leaders of the Frontline States, alongside the likes of Dr Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola, and Samora Machel of Mozambique.

They worked on assisting South African freedom fighters in their battle against apartheid, sometimes with dire consequences, such as the South African Defence Force (SADF) raid on Gaborone on June 14, 1985, which killed 12 people. Upon retiring from office, Sir Ketumile was frequently consulted by SADC and the AU as a peace negotiator. He served as the Chairman of the International Panel of Eminent Personalities Investigating the Circumstances Surrounding the 1994 Rwanda Genocide in 1998-2000.

Between 2000 and 2003, Sir Ketumile was the facilitator for the Inter-Congolese National Dialogue, and later worked as a SADC mediator in Lesotho. Sir Ketumile received several awards for his outstanding leadership, among them an Honorary Knighthood of the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George from the United Kingdom in 1991.

He also got the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger, honourary doctorates and national honours from other countries. Sir Ketumile married Gladys Olebile Masire (nee Mogwera) in 1958, who became the First Lady of the country during her husband’s time in office. She passed away in May 2013. The couple had six children, three sons and three daughters. In the words of Mbeki’s eulogy, “We will greatly miss his wisdom, his guiding hand and his friendship as we continue to do our best to respond to the many challenges our country and Continent face.” ENDS