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Tutwane accuses Ramaotwana of sabotaging him by going behind his back to contest for the youth wing presidency. He said he was shattered to learn that Ramaotwana was in the race when he was the same person who encouraged him to stand. Tutwane described himself as Ramaotwana's chief advisor and spin-doctor. He feels that he has been betrayed by the mayor. He said if Ramaotwana is going to contest for the elections, obviously his position as a mayor could work to his advantage. However, he said he was not afraid of Ramaotwana's challenge. But he feels that the race is going to be close and people should be elected according to their ability and not position. He said he is bitter because Ramaotwana has sabotaged him. "The main issue is that he sabotaged me. "He stabbed me in the back. What he has done to me is really painful. I feel betrayed. He is the one who asked me to stand. He has not acted honestly. He has sold me out. What he has done to me is what Judas did to Jesus. He is Comrade Judas," he said. Tutwane said unlike Ramaotwana, he was not pressurised to contest. He said the mayor was not contesting the elections out of principle but due to pressure by other people. "Is he a man of principle or a man of convenience who can be pushed? If people can pressurise him to stand for elections, what else can they not pressurise him to do?" he asked. He said he has always been Ramaotwana's ally since their university days and he regards the mayor as a friend and a brother. Tutwane said as someone who has been close to the mayor, he knows how busy he is. He wondered whether Ramaotwana would cope with extra duties. "As his advisor, I know that he has even been struggling to attend classes," he said. Tutwane said as a compromise position, people in Ramaotwana's camp wanted him to stand as secretary-general to allow the mayor to contest for the presidency. He turned down the offer because he did want to be doing the donkey work while Ramaotwana gets the credit. He added that he was going to find it difficult to continue working as Ramaotwana's advisor. He said he wanted to contest the BNF youth presidency because he feels he has the ability to transform the organisation. He said the youth league needs a leader who can come up with radical changes. He said he decided to stand for elections because he felt that the party was in a stage where it needed people who could take it to a higher level. When contacted, Ramaotwana said he is not aware that that Tutwane is bitter that he decided to contest for the youth league presidency. Ramaotwana said he told Tutwane to contest for the presidency but he declined. "I don't know why he is bitter. He told me that he couldn't stand but later he was convinced by other people," he said. Ramaotwana said he does not know why Tutwane should say he betrayed him because they have been discussing the issue of contesting the presidency at party fora. He said other youth league members felt that Tutwane should stand for another position other than the presidency. He pointed out that when Tutwane declined, they made a gentleman's agreement that they are going to stand against one another. "We agreed that we won't indulge in character assassination. If there is any issue, he should address it through the party channels," he said. Ramaotwana insisted that he decided to contest the elections out of principle. He indicated that the BNF constitution allows every party member to stand for any position. Meanwhile, BNF youth league president, Gabriel Kanjabanga said he welcomes both Ramaotwana and Tutwane's challenges because that is what democracy is all about. He said there is no love lost between him and the other candidates. "I don't feel threatened. The BNF members will make a decision. I don't have any problem," he said. Kanjabanga said if he loses, he would accept the results because he would still remain a BNF member.
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