Boko earns bragging rights
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday April 12, 2022 06:00
By-elections for council seats as a precursor to the general elections can easily be overlooked, but this time around, Bophirima in the Bonnigton South constituency proved not to be an ordinary ward. It challenged Boko’s leadership credentials and he has aced the test. He has gotten the confidence he needed that he can maintain the UDC brand with or without any opposition party. Also, this victory could be a yardstick for him to see if he can win back his former constituency in the 2024 general election.
When he wants something, Boko goes all out and mobilises his followers. He pushed hard in 2019, canvassing votes for his party, almost neglecting his own constituency campaign for Gaborone Bonnington North that he lost to Anna Mokgethi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). He was nowhere to be seen when Mokgethi was announced as the winner. Boko would then keep out of the public eye. He then reappeared when the UDC took the court route to challenge the election outcome.
He then led the UDC to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for by-elections with the Botswana Patriotic Front and the Alliance for Progressives. While the parties have been working together and recently delivered eight out of 11 council seats, it would seem there were issues as the Bophirima ward by-election broke the camel’s back.
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) decided to field its own candidate and was supported by the AP. This would not deter Boko as he went on a UDC national tour, perhaps to check how his support base is. Boko started 2022 on a high as he began a campaign to defend his BNF presidency against Baatlhodi “Bucs’ Molatlhegi. It was thus no surprise to see Boko over the moon delivering a councillor in a ward that was won by the BDP in 2019. Shortly after his and Sekete’s acceptance speeches, Boko told this publication that the Umbrella would not break. “The UDC will continue to be as united as it is now and nothing will break us. Whatever happened is not enough to break us. There are challenges, yes, and that will happen when different parties work together. It is, however, important for all parties involved to route grievances through established channels,” he said.
On whether there could be any action taken against the BCP, Boko said it was for the UDC National Executive Committee to make such a determination if need be.