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Botswana: Pilane to Go With Mogae
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
12 March 2008
Posted to the web 12 March 2008
Tshireletso Motlogelwa
When President Festus Mogae completes his term as President on March 31, he is likely to leave with his political and legal advisor, Sidney Pilane. Pilane's contract will expire on his boss's last day in office.Incoming President, Ian Khama, is said to prefer his own people and Pilane will probably be one of his first casualties.
Officials at the Office of the President had no definite answers when asked about Pilane's contract.
Press Secretary in the Office of the President, Jeff Ramsay indicates that although he has no idea what will happen to Pilane's contract, an announcement may be made soon regarding positions at the OP.
"I am sure we will make an announcement. We may have to wait for 1st April 2008 for those announcements," he said.
Pilane was appointed at Office of the President as special advisor in September 2001. He was the first person to be appointed to that post, which had previously not existed.
Although his political detractors at the time said that his appointment was meant to heal the ruling BDP rifts in Kgatleng East, it was generally believed by many that Pilane was appointed to advise Mogae to be politically and legally savvy.
At the time, the issuing of an election writ that could have disenfranchised a large number of Batswana, was counted among blunders at the President's office that could have been averted had there been sound legal advice.
Before he took up this position, Pilane had in the eighties been a crack criminal lawyer, who built his reputation on keeping high profile clients away from the gates of the country's jails.
As one man put it, "if you were in trouble with the law, Pilane was the name that came to many people's lips".
For a long time he was Kgosi Linchwe's attorney even on matters of tribal business.
After a successful practice, he relocated to South Africa where he is believed to have practiced as a an advocate.
He joined active politics at a time when he was already a household name in the legal fraternity.
Together with the current BDP Secretary General, Jacob Nkate, and others regarded as the doves in the party, who led the new wave to democratise the BDP calling for limitation of the presidency to two terms, and other reforms that at the time did not sit well with the party.
He was also strongly linked to the 'Big Five', an elite and powerful force with little appeal in the party at that time. The grouping was led by Magang, Merafhe, and Balopi among others.
In the 1994 BDP parliamentary primaries he lost to David Molefi.
There are strong suggestions that Pilane has not yet been notified that his contract will be renewed with only a few weeks before it lapses.
Sources at OP suggest that Pilane may be out of favour with Khama who prefers people who will pay personal allegiance to him.
The man at the head of the queue for Pilane's position is a retired army colonel who is known to be one of Khama's confidantes.
The retired soldier, like Pilane, has had legal training, attaining an LLB from a University in United Kingdom. The man is understood to have worked in the Botswana Defence Force's Mozambique contingent and also as military attache at the United Nations.
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Pilane could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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