Gloves off as Boko, Molatlhegi tussle
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday July 18, 2022 06:00
The two-horse race has been a contest of speed and BNF delegates will finally discern where their calling is by choosing their preferred thoroughbred leader who will guide the party going forward.
As delegates gear up for the congress tomorrow, it is too late now for shadow campaigns. Candidates can no longer traverse the country to say out their vision for the future of the party.
There is no time to draw up plans because the race has already reached the last lap for preparation.
While Molatlhegi’s detractors already foresee a tenacious victory well within Boko’s compass, Molatlhegi is not quite far-flung. With Boko’s own vice president Prince Dibeela running as VP on Molatlhegi’s team, the plan is obviously to take him (Boko) on from different angles.
Remember Molatlhegi is the same man who ruffled feathers and kicked the whole race into full gear when he publicly said the BNF has been ‘reduced to a pale shadow of itself’.
That was no whisper campaign but the whole thing had finally turned into something audible. Boko who is used to being unopposed was even shocked when an ‘unknown’ Molatlhegi said the party he (Boko) has been leading for 12 years is in an ‘ICU state’.
When Molatlhegi made his intention to challenge Boko, political power brokers within the BNF were impressed that finally someone had decided to take on the UDC leader. With ‘Bucs’ running, they felt there will be a good chance for a contested campaign.
“The organisational structures, which in essence are the organisation itself, have literally collapsed, its organs have ceased to function,” Molatlhegi told the media in a press briefing to announce his candidacy in February this year. He outlined the dismal decline of the performance of BNF in successive national elections even under the umbrella of the opposition collective.
Molatlhegi indicated that challenging an incumbent should not be viewed with any measure of cynicism, but rather with the view that he is exercising his democratic right.
“Contest is the hallmark of democracy. It is only through contest that party members are able to assert their will on who should lead them and how they want the affairs of their movement to be conducted. I contest the presidency of this party with its rebuilding and its unity amongst my core priorities. It is also critically important that BNF traces itself and finds its historical organisational values,” he highlighted.
Molatlhegi, who has been a BNF member for a period spanning 40 years, indicated that often times when one raises their hand and offers to serve, in other quarters this is misinterpreted to be a treacherous act deserving of severe punishment.
“The reaction to this is often adverse hostility,” he said.
Speaking of hostility, Boko just like Molatlhegi was a new name in the political circles in 2010 when the then BNF president, Otsweletse Moupo announced that he would not run for another term. At the time, Molatlhegi’s name came up but nothing official ever materialised. Back then, when Boko raised his hand indicating that he wanted to be the new face of the party after Moupo, he was just a flamboyant human rights lawyer who jointly represented Basarwa in the landmark CKGR case with British lawyer, Gordon Bennet and won the matter.
People highly admired Boko then because he was that bold fighter who advocated for human and minority's rights. A graduate of Harvard law school, Boko presented himself as a charming and stylish leader the BNF needed to redefine its much stained organisational character. Moupo who took over from the late founding father of the BNF, Dr Kenneth Koma in 2001 had almost derailed the party train and it was up to Boko to offer solution.
Just like Molatlhegi, detractors denounced Boko as a newcomer whose political activism ended during his university days. No one can say that Molatlhegi leaped into the July congress at a high-water mark for himself but it was a particularly vulnerable time for Boko as he faces challenges that include tackling his differences with his suspended deputy at UDC, Dumelang Saleshando.
At first, ‘Bucs’ as Molatlhegi is affectionately called and Boko’s BNF presidential race started smoothly as a healthy and fair race, it soon turned dirty when incumbent party leadership suspended some of Team Bucs members for allegedly airing the party’s dirty linen in public.
Two supporters of Team Bucs, namely former Mogoditshane legislator Mokgweetsi Kgosipula and Kaboyaone Sedimo were suspended by party structures for alleged misconduct. The duo were said to have granted media interviews saying their party was worse than the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) when it comes to issues of rigging elections.
“BNF office is known for stealing elections and membership cards being printed at night,” Sedimo allegedly told a local media publication.
Team Boko members were accused of attempting to rig elections by printing new membership cards at the BNF office at night. Lawlessness, injustice, flouting of procedures and promotion of unethical behaviour amongst others were some of the words that were thrown around across both camps. Consequently, the BNF Central Committee (CC) then resolved that going forward no lobby group will be allowed to use party logos and symbols.
“And all the campaigns as it is the norm, are supposed to be internal and no member should be denied the right to campaign and lobby for support within the structures. No lobby group will be allowed to carry out media interviews,” BNF secretary-general, Moeti Mohwasa told the media in May.
“The CC will also ensure that stern action is taken against those who attack other contestants, soil the name of the party and leak information to the media. Our aim as the CC is to ensure that there is order, tolerance and mutual respect as we move towards the National Congress.”
The back and forth chaos went on and on and the eventual finger-pointing turned what was supposed to be a clean campaign into a court case.
Applicants, Kgakgamatso Kebiditswe and Tlamelo Mpodi took the BNF to court pleading that the decision by the party CC to hold the weekend congress be set aside.
They also wanted the party to appoint a crisis resolution committee for the internal resolution of election disputes according to the party constitution. In addition, they wanted the party to allow new membership registration and renewal of existing membership in the lead-up to the national congress. They further stipulated that no such registration shall be interrupted.
In court, Boko dismissed the two saying they have no rights to interdict the party and its activities because they failed to produce BNF membership cards. On the contrary, Mpodi and Kebiditswe rebutted the party’s contention that they were not members of the party as alleged.
They admitted to court that they did not attach any membership cards to their court papers, but pointed out that they are long serving members of the BNF and also well known. On Wednesday, Judge Gabriel Komboni dismissed the duo’s matter after failure to provide enough evidence. Komboni indicated that this is a political matter, something the court should not be involved in.
Even after the court judgement, analysts have pointed out Boko as the front-runner by a country mile. As Boko juggles the UDC and BNF presidencies he has not been falling out of favour. Boko has been barnstorming the country to prove to BNF members that he is a candidate with a more broadly appealing profile and most importantly electable.
Molatlhegi on the other side has not done much to reach the far-flung places to garner votes. It is quite clear that both Molatlhegi and Boko possess the skills that are uniquely matched to the current political climate. Molatlhegi was regarded as a relatively newcomer using Boko’s image to shine a bright political spotlight on himself.
Boko is a top-tier contender and a proven vote-getter who will almost certainly cruise to another term. Now that the effort to interdict the weekend congress has failed, facing Boko after such a loss makes Team Bucs seem like risk-takers. Whether the decision to take their party to court was political suicide on their part it remains to be seen because some of the members might face disciplinary action. There are not many options at the moment, but amongst them are to go ahead and risk a whitewash or to sit this one out in the eleventh hour.