04 Nov 2019

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) strongly condemns reported assertions on Facebook by the Parrot News Online and other news feeds, which are attributed to Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) spokesperson, Justice Motlhabane, wherein he states that the BDF was used to mobilise and draw people to attend the presidential inauguration on November 1.

The news release from the BDF says though the article touches on a number of issues, the BDF would like to restrict itself only to the assertions that it was used to mobilise and draw people to attend the presidential inauguration, which it says is not only untruthful, but a distortion of facts.

According to the release, the BDF’s mission is to defend Botswana’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and national interest, adding that they have and will continue to participate in national events such as State of the Nation Address, and Independence Day celebrations.

The statement further says that previous presidential inaugurations, including the 2019 inauguration, are part of the BDF’s tasks and not a ‘populist’ move as captured in Mr Motlhabane’s assertions.

Furthermore, the press release notes that at such events, the BDF always mounts ceremonial parades for inspection by the President and the Commander in Chief.

It notes that to surmise the participation of the BDF at the 2019 presidential inauguration as a mobilisation of people to draw them to attend the inauguration was not only misleading, but baseless.

The press release urges the public to treat such assertions as falsehoods, since they had the potential to mislead and bring the name of the Botswana Defence Force into disrepute. ENDS