BDP’s ‘fading’ factionalism
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday July 18, 2022 06:00
In the past, bitter factionalism was so embedded in the party such that it was almost part and parcel of the BDP landscape.
But, it was the fortunes of the party that were hardest hit as they continued to dwindle to all time lows in the process.
Lately, President Mokgweetsi Masisi has been concerned about the matter and vowed to turn things around. His aim is for the party to increase its popular vote from 52% in the last general election in 2019 to 60% or 70% in the impending elections or just in future.
For starters, past BDP leadership was kept on its toes by the likes of the Jacob Nkate/Mompati Merafhe or Nkate/Merafhe and the Ponatshego Kedikilwe/Daniel Kwelagobe or Kedikilwe/Kwelagobe axis.
Nkate was a robust politician who fought so hard to ensure that his faction and the BDP remained alive. He was a fighter who cut the opposition to the rightful size especially during his tenure as the party secretary-general.
He would later be deployed as an envoy, a move that weaned him away from local politics. The late Merafhe, who besides having been the longest serving foreign affairs minister, was also vice president to former president Ian Khama who is currently in self-exile in the neighbouring South Africa.
He was one of the best leaders of the House in the National Assembly and very abreast with current affairs and a great orator of his time.
Khama had elevated him to defend his presidency, as the retired military commander was a no-nonsense politician. Kedikilwe is the retired former vice president who came in after Khama had apparently tamed the Barata Phathi, a faction that he (Kedikilwe) co-led with Kwelagobe. Kwelagobe, one of the BDP’s longest serving cabinet ministers and secretaries-general, needs no introduction.
During his tenure as the secretary-general in particular, he was in total control of the party structures. In his last years in the BDP, he rose to become the party chairperson.
At some stage, former president Khama, probably out of frustration by Kwelagobe’s control of the BDP structures, which had almost created two centres of power in the party, forced him to choose between cabinet and party chairperson positions and Kwelagobe fell for the latter. The party’s two powerful factions would later change names to A-Team and Barata Phathi factions respectively. Credit should, however, go to former president Festus Mogae, who during his tenure provided a listening ear when Barata Phathi leaders fought for inclusion in both the party and government. He never denied the presence of the factions in the party and this was his first level of positively dealing with them.
He was, however, unable to annihilate the factions as when Khama took over from Mogae, he inherited factions that were already imbedded so much that expecting them to suddenly disappear was an impossible feat. Ironically, Khama was brought into the BDP from the army where he was the commander under recommendation by the late South Africa-based political consultant, Professor Lawrence Schlemmer to end factions in the party when Mogae took over from his predecessor, the late Sir Ketumile Masire. At the time, Khama was not yet immersed in the BDP's culture of factions.
Over time, Khama unfortunately became a factionalist and he would later pay the price. Two years after succeeding Mogae, Barata Phathi would in 2010 morph into a fully-fledged political party called the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) after a fall out with Khama whom they accused of failing to provide a listening ear. The BDP had just emerged from an elective congress in Kanye the previous year where Khama failed to recognise the newly elected committee, which was dominated by the Barata Phathi faction.
Incumbent President Masisi would taste a major split of the BDP when party diehards loyal to Khama formed the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) in 2019. This was at he height of a fall out between Khama and Masisi. The Central District-based BPF shook the BDP to the core but could not deny it to win the general election in 2019, albeit with a reduced popular vote. Post 2019 general election, the BDP suffered defeat at the hands of the opposition winning only three council wards out of a possible 13.
The party found itself in sixes and sevens and was worried about its incessant losses as it pointed out to an uncomfortable development. There was also a concern about President Masisi and his former ally, Mpho Balopi, the party's current secretary-general. It became so bad so much that Balopi had to resign from his cabinet position when all eyes were on him as almost the enemy of the party.
Some councillors loyal to Balopi were suspended from the party in what was suspected to be 'cleansing' of the enemies of the party president. Equally, Lobatse legislator Thapelo Matsheka was misconstrued to be a factionalist with links to Balopi after he declared his desire to challenge the BDP chairperson, Slumber Tsogwane. Matsheka was first demoted as Minister of Finance to the lower Ministry of Infrastructure before he was fired from Cabinet. These were signs of a party troubled by factionalism, which required appropriate remedial action rather than haphazard and knee-jerk reactions.
Meanwhile, the BDP spokesperson, Kagelelo Kentse is upbeat that party discipline is yielding good results that they are harvesting now. “You will remember that somewhere along the way, we chose to suspend some errant councillors and others. Our medicine was simply the application of the party constitution appropriately,” Kentse told Mmegi in an interview this week.
He explained that the BDP disciplinary process is not to punish members but to rehabilitate them. He added: “Even when there are issues to be discussed, there are appropriate platforms like the national council coming over the weekend, where party diehards congregate and resolve issues as a collective.” He indicated that the State and party President Masisi consults party structures, central committee and relevant sub committees widely and this has provided the requisite winning formula.
The BDP goes to its national council over the weekend under the theme: “Unity and Consolidation.” Kentse credits the visionary leadership of Masisi to be concerned about the state of the party through and through with the party central committee available to provide the requisite leadership. The BDP spokesperson feels President Masisi is winning the hearts and minds of the people by “returning the party to the people.” “We now have fully functioning structures, which are active throughout and our wards and branches are visible,” declared the excited Kentse conceding that it has been a journey well traversed so far.