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Botswana: Exciting But Chaotic Inauguration
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
2 April 2008
Posted to the web 2 April 2008
Tshireletso Motlogelwa
New President Ian Khama was inaugurated in a procession characterised by excitement and glitches yesterday morning.
Early in the pleasantly cloudy morning, a curious crowd gathered and waited for the arrival of the VIPs. By 7am, security had secured the Parliament Building area spanning Parliament Adjunct, Ntlo Ya Dikgosi Building and the parliamentary gardens.
Right in front of Parliament Building was the arena where the inauguration would take place. Chairs decorated in national colours and a red carpet was laid leading up to the inauguration podium under a small marquee structure, facing eastwards.
On the steps of the Parliament was the VIP section on which the Khama family including the new president's brothers Tshekedi and Anthony, his sister Jacqueline, former presidents Festus Mogae and Sir Ketumile Masire and other dignitaries sat.
The media cameramen and reporters with pads and pens nestled around the margins of the arena. Behind them members of the public complained that they did not have a proper view of the front arena. Military and police officers in ceremonial regalia milled around.
When Khama arrived in a Mercedes sedan led by a pack of white horses, the crowd broke into song, ululated, yelled and surged forward.
Then the programme kicked off immediately. The singing of the national anthem was lost in the continuous din of noise from the public gallery. The sound system was barely audible and not many people could hear what was going on at the front.
At the last verse, someone hissed the crowd to silence and the public joined the singing. When Khama spoke on the microphone, there was barely any sound through the public address system.
The swearing in was brief. Khama walked up to the podium and joined Chief Justice Julian Nganunu.
Nganunu urged the crowd to be quiet before starting the swearing in. Khama stood next to him with an expressionless face. And then he came up to the microphone.
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Halfway through the inauguration, a new microphone was brought forward and the sound became much more audible. The crowd became more relaxed. When Khama was done, the crowd burst into yet another round of noise.
The new president rose and, accompanied by the BDF commander General Tebogo Masire, he went to inspect his first Presidential Guard of Honour. The BDF contingent stood just in front of the Khama statue. It took a few minutes before Khama emerged once again. He sat back and looked around.
At this point, the crowd burst through and went past the security lines straight to Khama. A few people shook his hand but soon after crowd control personnel moved in and pushed them back a few metres. At around 11am, Khama stood up to present his speech. Some people remained behind to listen while others left.
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| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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