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Botswana: Alert Over Zim Crisis?
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
7 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008
Tumelo Setshogo
The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) is reportedly on high alert following the delayed announcement of results of presidential elections in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Reliable sources within the BDF told Monitor on Saturday that the military has been on standby should events in Zimbabwe threaten the peace and tranquility of Botswana.
The sources said over the weekend that BDF has been on the alert since Thursday and they are not aware when this will end. "We have been on a standby since last week Thursday should anything happen in Zimbabwe," said a BDF soldier.
Word on the streets of Gaborone is that the BDF has been on the alert because of the events in Zimbabwe. Some people in the city said their friends and relatives who are members of the army told them about the matter.
"Yes I know that these guys are on standby to prepare for whatever happens in Zimbabwe which could cause disruptions in our country," said a young man in Maruapula whose uncle is a soldier.
Meanwhile, BDF's director of protocol Lieutenant Colonel Mogorosi Baatweng denied that the military is on the alert. "That is not true.
The BDF is not on a standby," he said. But he stated that the National Disaster Preparedness Committee is on standby to assist if anything happens in Zimbabwe. Baatweng said though they are not part of the committee, they help whenever there is need. "That is where we come in to assist. It is business as usual at BDF," he said.
Government spokesperman Jeff Ramsay said he is not aware of any orders concerning the BDF to be on a standby.
"I am not aware of anything like that," said Ramsay. However, he said government is closely watching the situation in Zimbabwe. "But I don't want to speculate on what could happen there."
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Efforts to get comments over the weekend from Vice President Mompati Merafhe, Minister of Justice, Defence and Security Brigadier Ramadeluka Seretse were futile.
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