BPF factional wars overshadow Serowe west victyory
Botswana Patriot Front (BPF) factional wars continue to rage on each week as the leaders wrestle for the control of the party.
The wars have taken another twist this week to the extent of shadowing the party’s victory of the Serowe West Constituency by-election.
BPF’s Onalepelo Kedikilwe won the election with 2933 votes against Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s 1266, and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) 103 votes.
Ever since it was announced that there would be a by-election in the constituency, the BPF has been at the forefront of the race. Kedikilwe was sworn in as Serowe West area MP yesterday (Tuesday) in Parliament.
The BDP which was the closest contender was not helped by the ongoing fight between government and former President Ian Khama who is also the patron of the BPF.
On the eve of the victory celebration on Sunday, BPF President Biggie Butale slapped some members of the BPF National Executive Committee (NEC) with suspension letters.
The decision derailed the victory celebration for retaining the constituency as the factions traded attacks accusing each other of being influenced by external forces.
Interestingly, the fighting factions paraded a united BPF on the eve of the election in Serowe on Friday during their final rally. In attendance was the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) led by its President, Advocate Duma
Boko and Alliance for Progressives (AP).
Key NEC members that were slapped with suspensions and recalled are the party’s Vice President Mephato Reatile and Information and Publicity Secretary, Lawrence Ookeditse.
According to Butale, the NEC members are recalled from their positions and suspended from the party as a result of their acts of indiscipline, insubordination and causing divisions in the party, which if not immediately curtailed, not only brings the party into disrepute but threatens its survival.
“The latest act is a series of actions in which you have blatantly disrespected me as the president and my authority as the same, and further influenced other members of the NEC and the party to act in insubordination to my advice and instructions”, one of the letters from Butale reads.
Butale’s suspension letters have however been dismissed as some half-cooked attempt to be vindictive as he purports to ‘suspend’ some of the NEC members from the party.
According to Ookeditse, a suspended person has no authority to suspend any other.
“Butale is suspended alongside Moiseraele Goya and Phagenyana Phage who also supported an independent candidate at the Mmaphula East by-election, which rogue actions were allegedly sanctioned by Butale according to a brief to the party secretary general from the disciplinary committee", Ookeditse said.
The two warrying BPF factions are currently battling it out in the courts of law over the control of the party.
The wars have taken another twist this week to the extent of shadowing the party’s victory of the Serowe West Constituency by-election.
BPF’s Onalepelo Kedikilwe won the election with 2933 votes against Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s 1266, and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) 103 votes.
Ever since it was announced that there would be a by-election in the constituency, the BPF has been at the forefront of the race. Kedikilwe was sworn in as Serowe West area MP yesterday (Tuesday) in Parliament.
The BDP which was the closest contender was not helped by the ongoing fight between government and former President Ian Khama who is also the patron of the BPF.
On the eve of the victory celebration on Sunday, BPF President Biggie Butale slapped some members of the BPF National Executive Committee (NEC) with suspension letters.
The decision derailed the victory celebration for retaining the constituency as the factions traded attacks accusing each other of being influenced by external forces.
Interestingly, the fighting factions paraded a united BPF on the eve of the election in Serowe on Friday during their final rally. In attendance was the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) led by its President, Advocate Duma
Boko and Alliance for Progressives (AP).
Key NEC members that were slapped with suspensions and recalled are the party’s Vice President Mephato Reatile and Information and Publicity Secretary, Lawrence Ookeditse.
According to Butale, the NEC members are recalled from their positions and suspended from the party as a result of their acts of indiscipline, insubordination and causing divisions in the party, which if not immediately curtailed, not only brings the party into disrepute but threatens its survival.
“The latest act is a series of actions in which you have blatantly disrespected me as the president and my authority as the same, and further influenced other members of the NEC and the party to act in insubordination to my advice and instructions”, one of the letters from Butale reads.
Butale’s suspension letters have however been dismissed as some half-cooked attempt to be vindictive as he purports to ‘suspend’ some of the NEC members from the party.
According to Ookeditse, a suspended person has no authority to suspend any other.
“Butale is suspended alongside Moiseraele Goya and Phagenyana Phage who also supported an independent candidate at the Mmaphula East by-election, which rogue actions were allegedly sanctioned by Butale according to a brief to the party secretary general from the disciplinary committee", Ookeditse said.
The two warrying BPF factions are currently battling it out in the courts of law over the control of the party.
