Knives out for Francistown East MP
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Member of Parliament Buti Billy has cried foul citing defamation of character following a letter written by some party members in his constituency fingering him for keeping the party’s voters registration books and hiding them from other party members willing to register voters. Rubbishing the allegations contained in the letter forwarded to the party’s Secretary General Mpho Balopi and copied to the party branch committee, Billy fumed that the letter was merely based on allegations since there is no concrete evidence linking him to the voter’s registration books.
“I do not keep the party’s voters registration books since they are kept by the party structures including wards and cells. People should be aware that the BDP books are not given to any ordinary member as per the party constitution,” he explained. Buti’s sentiments follow hard on a recent complaint by some concerned members of the BDP especially those harbouring ambitions to contest during the next BDP Bulela Ditswe primary elections slated for August this year. The letter alleges misappropriation of the voter’s registration books which they claim to be secretly kept by MP Buti Billy and his clique of councillors who will contest the coming election under his team.
As if that is not enough, the MP is accused of using a Botswana Congress Party (BCP) member to register voters, something the MP said was untrue, adding that the said allegations emanate from a seating BCP councillor whose aim is to sow seeds of discord within BDP members in the constituency. A member of the disgruntled group who lifted the lid to The Midweek Sun but declined to be named for fear of reprisals complained that currently all those who harbour intentions to contest during the coming primary elections are dealt a hard blow. “When the only person registering voters is the area MP and his clique, then there is no element of democracy ahead of the race since the playing field has been made uneven by the other camp.
“If we cannot be availed with voter registration books in the constituency, how are we going to register members who are willing to join the party to support us?” the source asked. The source continued that former MP for the constituency was floored by Billy who is alleged to have used the same tactics of denying his competitors access to such books. When contacted for a comment, former Francistown Mayor James Kgalajwe, who is also a part of the complaining team, could only say: “I have no comment on the matter currently since it’s a party internal issue, just kindly contact the BDP Secretary General,” Kgalajwe said. When this publication contacted Tsholetsa House concerning the letter, both Balopi and BDP Executive Secretary Moloisi said they were in the dark concerning the contents of the letter. They both said they have yet to receive such a letter from the aggrieved parties. Francistown Regional Chairperson Medupi reconfirmed that all the party’s voter registration books are the responsibility of the party structures including cells where voters are registered and added that area MPs do not hold such books.
