“So I hear,” he says rather nonchalantly about the fact he has a pending case with his own party.
Is he worried?
“Not at all,” comes the cold response. “I’m not worried because I don’t know what this is all about. I have not even been told what I am charged with. I’ve only been notified that someday I will have to appear before bo-rre Mothei.”
Mothei (Harry Mothei, that is) is the Gaborone mayor, and a councillor in Molefhabangwe’s Gaborone West constituency. The initial winner of the primary elections for the BNF’s Gaborone West South parliamentary ticket for the coming general elections, Mothei had his victory nullified by the High Court after Molefhabangwe challenged the conduct of the elections. Molefhabangwe won the re-run. The two are not finished with each other yet.
But even before Molefhabangwe appears before his rival, he challenges Mothei’s ascent to the chair of the disciplinary committee.
“In the BNF,” he says, “various central committee members chair the sub-committees that fall under their portfolios. The publicity and information secretary, for instance, chairs the publicity and information committee. I recall that the Kanye congress, assigned the disciplinary portfolio to Lazenby Wright, whom – I am told – later defected. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no replacement for Wright. I know that the vacancies filled were those of treasurer, and the one held by the late Mareledi Giddie (information and publicity).”
Even with his doubt on Mothei’s legitimacy as head of the DC, Molefhabangwe says when he is advised on the date of the hearing: “I will go and listen to them”.
What if he is expelled?
“That won’t change anything,” he replies. “The only difference is that I may not be able to contest the constituency, but it won’t end my political career. Politics does not end in Parliament. I spent five fruitful years in Parliament during which I gained international exposure on parliamentary business. No one can erase my contribution on the campaign against HIV/AIDS. I have so much experience and qualifications that I can survive on my own politically. I know that some people go about saying I would stand on the BCP ticket. That’s rubbish. Motho o tswa ko BCP ko a itlhobogileng teng a re nna Robert ke a go emela ditlhopho ko BCP. I would be stupid.
“Nna Front ga e ise e e nkgele ditshwang le mante jaaka e kile ya nkgela ba bangwe. Mo go nna e nkga bophepha. You won’t find my name in the archives of any party, except the BNF. I’m not sure if some of my colleagues can make the same claim. Ba bangwe ba setse ba kile ba tswa ba go itirela diphathi tsa bone. Ba bangwe ba tswa go forma BCP.”
In the event that he is expelled, what would he do?
“I have more than what I need in my hands. I’m not landless. I’m not a man of no property. I have never experienced the bitter fruits of unemployment.”
Would he miss the BNF?
“I would rather not answer that one. I’m not being evasive, but e ka seka ya tsaya ba bangwe sentle.”
A ring adorns the middle finger of his right hand. On close inspection, it turns out to be a rosary. It is confirmation of his standing as a practising Catholic who prays daily and believes in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Strange, isn’t it – coming from a confirmed Marxist?
“Who said Marxists are not religious? It is not true,” he says, “that Marxists are atheists. In Latin America, we all know about the contribution that my church made in the struggle for liberation.”
What’s the extent of his commitment to his religion?
To this, he answers, “if the Pope issues an instruction I abide by it”.
So he is against the use of condoms?
“Yes. But as a political leader, I won’t publicly preach against the use of condoms. I don’t encourage condom use, but I don’t point a finger at those who do. I believe in abstinence and faithfulness in a relationship. I believe that sex outside marriage and fornication are mortal sins.”
Does he abstain?
A naughty smile, then a sudden change in facial expression, and a menacing look over the frame of his spectacles.
“Sometimes. I have a girlfriend who is equally Christian. We don’t live together. We visit each other. We believe that marriage comes first, and sexual intimacy later.”
His frustration is evident when he talks about the difficulty that comes with combining Christianity and political activism. He says the political field is a landmine of dishonesty, betrayal, misleading of the people and insults.
“If you do what is right, you end up being labelled a maverick. You are expected to put friends and comrades ahead of the truth. When we go for elections, only 10 percent of what politicians say constitutes the truth. The rest is lies.”
He requests that this article carry his message on HIV/AIDS.
“Those who are not married should abstain. Those who are in relationships should be faithful to each other. Those with the ability to talk should talk positively against HIV/AIDS.”
Why this passion about the fight against HIV/AIDS?
“Batho bagaetsho ba a swa. Go swa bone ba ba ntlenyane. Rona ba re iseng re nyale re tla tlhaelwa ke basadi. Ha ba sa re tlhaele re tla tlhoka baemesi ha re nyala.”
Following his recent successful motion in Parliament calling for an inquiry into financial management at the University of Botswana, Molefhabangwe has been accused of fighting internal battles under the guise of playing public watchdog. He says those who think he is out to embarrass party colleagues who might be implicated in wrongdoing “probably know something I don’t”.
“There has not been an inquiry yet,” he says. “So we don’t know if the wrongdoers are my colleagues or BDP members. The BNF is against corruption, no matter who is behind it. We have no programme to protect our colleagues who are corrupt. As we consider ourselves a government-in-waiting, we have to be exemplary and practise what we preach. We should not save the faces of comrades and pseudo comrades.”
Would that include disclosure of the source of the party’s funding?
“If it’s true that we get external assistance, we should disclose who those friends are. If we believe in transparency, we should be transparent. Otherwise we would be hypocrites.”
Then he quotes from BNF secretary general Akanyang Magama’s report to last month’s conference in Selebi-Phikwe, in which he calls on party members to observe the discipline of the BNF and carry out the party’s policies.
One of these policies, Molefhabangwe says, is zero-tolerance for corruption.
