"They are not our members" - BNF
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe - Oscar Gasennelwe | Monday July 4, 2022 06:00
The party in its court papers said the members Kgakgamatso Kebiditswe and Tlamelo Mpodi have no rights to interdict the party and its activities because they failed to produce BNF membership cards. In its court papers, the party says failure to do so shows that indeed the duo do not have the rights to take the party to court.
“From the legal principle it becomes clear that the applicants ought to have attached proof of their membership of the party in the form of membership cards that demonstrates that they are members of the party in good standing. Without such evidence the court only has bald and unsubstantiated claims of the applicants to rely on.
This does not suffice to establish any right,” said the party.
According to the BNF, the applicants did not attach any evidence which shows that they are eligible candidates for election into office of the central committee. The party further says failure to provide such evidence, would not help the court to establish that the applicants have a direct and substantial interest in the scheduled national congress.
“The applicants in the very least, even if it is assumed that they are members in good standing, are “meddlesome interlopers” and/ or “busybodies”. The third reason is that the applicants' right to sue is challenged,” reads BNF papers. The Duma Boko led party further argued that the applicants have not established the basis of their purported authority to compel the party’s central committee to exercise powers as the applicants deem fit. The BNF maintains that the applicants have failed to establish a right for the purpose of the proceedings and ought to be dismissed with costs on a punitive scale inclusive of the costs of three attorneys and counsel.
On urgency, the party said it was self created by the applicants because there are facts before court and there have been at least three notices issued by the BNF through the Secretary General (SG), Moeti Mohwasa. The latter explained that the National Congress was scheduled for July 2020. the BNF also says the said members have not been truthful and honest with court with regards to timeline of the matter.
The party further said if the applicants indeed had issue with the holding of the national congress in July 2022, the time to act would not have been after the first notice was issued and in the very least after the second notice was issued. It also stressed that the applicants have not accounted for the seven months that have elapsed since the issue of the first notice. “The effect of the above is that the application is not urgent or the urgency was self-created by the applicants and this application stands to be dismissed on this basis with costs,” BNF states.
On the other hand, the two members, Kebiditswe and Mpodi had dragged the party to court to interdict the congress dated June 6, 2022 by the party central committee and asking it to be declared unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and thereby it should be set aside. They also want the court to set aside any decision taken by the central committee pertaining to the holding of the BNF 2022 national congress. The members also plead that the court directs the BNF, and any of its responsible officers to take all necessary steps, prior to the issuing of any notice to convene the 18th national congress urgent application has been postponed by Gaborone High Court to July 7, 2022 to allow all parties to file their court papers.
The members want to interdict the party because they feel that due processes were not followed when electing delegates for the lower structures and therefore they will be disadvantaged at the national congress. Meanwhile the case which was scheduled for Wednesday was postponed to July 7, 2022.