{"id":79926,"date":"2023-07-02T23:09:18","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T21:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns"},"modified":"2023-07-03T02:23:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T00:23:25","slug":"ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns","title":{"rendered":"Ian Khama Avoids His Father’s Commemoration In Botswana Over Safety Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Self-exiled former Botswana president Seretse Khama Ian Khama did not travel home for the annual Sir Seretse Khama Day commemoration on Saturday, citing fears for his safety.<\/p>\n

Sir Seretse Khama Day is a public holiday annually observed on July 1 in Botswana to commemorate the first President of Botswana on the anniversary of his birth date in 1921.<\/p>\n

Seretse Khama was the heir and grandson of King Khama III and the father of Ian Khama.<\/p>\n

Khama fled Botswana in November 2021, claiming his life was in danger, and has been living in exile in South Africa ever since.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Saturday, Khama said he had decided not to attend the commemoration because he feared for his safety. He said:<\/p>\n

I was informed by very reliable sources here in South Africa that there was a DIS-authorised plan to carry out a \u201chit on me\u201d on my way to the border, and if that plan was abandoned due to high risk, then to carry out something similar at the border when I arrived and to stage a scuffle in which a fatal accident would occur against my person.<\/p>\n

The Botswana government has, however, denied that it is planning to assassinate Khama.<\/p>\n

01 July has traditionally been a public holiday for the longest time in Botswana but in 2020, President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi decided to elevate Sir Seretse Khama Day with a befitting honour.<\/p>\n

However, his predecessor and Seretse Khama\u2019s son accused him of \u201cmilking the name and legacy\u201d of his father. Said Khama:<\/p>\n

And today, the 1st of July, after an unprecedented build-up to the day through government statements and media, there will be insincere tributes paid by Masisi to Sir Seretse, milking his name and legacy in the hope of reaping some benefit from someone he does not actually respect.<\/p>\n

And at the same time, whilst doing so, engages in the persecution of Sir Seretse\u2019s family and engages in blatant hypocrisy by trying to prevent similar commemoration activities in Serowe, my father\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

Seretse Khama became the first President of Botswana after it gained independence from Britain in 1966.<\/p>\n

He is credited with helping to transform Botswana from one of the poorest countries in Africa to one of the most prosperous.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Self-exiled former Botswana president Seretse Khama Ian Khama did not travel home for the annual Sir Seretse Khama Day commemoration on Saturday, citing fears for his safety. Sir Seretse Khama Day is a public holiday annually observed on July 1 in Botswana to commemorate the first President of Botswana on the anniversary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":79925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,7017,7018,14754,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-79926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-ian-khama","12":"tag-seretse-khama-ian-khama","13":"tag-sir-seretse-khama-day","14":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nIan Khama Avoids His Father's Commemoration In Botswana Over Safety Concerns - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Self-exiled former Botswana president Seretse Khama Ian Khama did not travel home for the annual Sir Seretse Khama Day c ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ian Khama Avoids His Father's Commemoration In Botswana Over Safety Concerns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Self-exiled former Botswana president Seretse Khama Ian Khama did not travel home for the annual Sir Seretse Khama Day c ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-02T21:09:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-03T00:23:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2023\/07\/sm_1688327411.615317.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ian-khama-avoids-his-fathers-commemoration-in-botswana-over-safety-concerns\",\"name\":\"Ian Khama Avoids His Father's Commemoration In Botswana Over Safety Concerns - 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