Saleshando ‘betrays’ Boko
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday July 25, 2022 06:00
The two met ahead of the BCP’s national conference and the BNF’s elective congress held this past holiday weekend.
Speaking after retaining his presidency on Tuesday night, Boko who also doubles as Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) president, told the BNF members that just like he had posted on Facebook few days earlier, he managed to meet Saleshando and they talked about a lot of issues among them lifting the suspensions of the five BCP legislators.
He said he also spoke with the MPs about the meeting and they were optimistic since they wanted to put the entire uncertainty behind. Boko indicated that following the meeting with Saleshando, he was shocked when he heard that things had taken an ugly turn in Mahalapye where the BCP national conference took a decision to expel the five MPs from the party with immediate effect. He said all of that was done with reasons unknown to him.
The expelled MPs are Kenny Kapinga, Onneetse Ramogapi, Dr Never Tshabang, David Tshere and the newly appointed Leader of Opposition (LoO) Dithapelo Keorapetse.
The quintet was expelled for taking part in a UDC caucus that toppled the former LoO Saleshando and replaced him with Keorapetse. Boko said the main reason he met Saleshando in the first place was to find out if the two of them could not meet and iron out their issues with mediators. “We believe that the UDC is still intact and that there are no indifferences that cannot be solved,” he said.
He also said the effort was to rebuild the UDC again. Boko disclosed that the matter was causing confusion no wonder he and Saleshando talked at length. Boko revealed that no decisions were made but they came to some agreements.
Boko added that among the things they agreed at the meeting was to review and set aside Saleshando and the BCP secretary-general (SG) Kegoretetse Kekgonegile’s suspension.
The duo were suspended by the UDC after they allegedly tarnished the party’s image and then failed to apologise. Boko said on top of putting aside those suspensions was to reinstate Saleshando as the UDC vice president and LoO.
Boko also indicated that Saleshando was to withdraw the court case in which he and Kekgonegile are challenging their suspensions. Saleshando and Kekgonegile are challenging their suspension from the umbrella saying there is nowhere in the constitution of the UDC that gives Boko any powers to suspend them as they are not members of the umbrella but just delegates.
The duo wants the court to declare their suspension from the UDC unlawful, wrongful, unreasonable, improper and invalid. Boko said they had agreed that they would release a pre-communiqué statement so that they could sign an agreement on the matter the following day. He stated that they wanted to show UDC followers that they are in unison.
He pointed out that as the leadership they wanted to reveal what they wish should be done to rekindle their relationship adding that they even made a draft copy of their agreement. The BNF leader said after the meeting, he told BPP's Motlatsi Molapisi who commended him for doing everything it takes to make sure that the UDC remains whole.
Boko, however, said what happened with the expelled legislators does not take away all the efforts made with Saleshando to fix things. He said they made the efforts to overcome the challenges they are facing because the intention is to unite all the opposition parties. “We always go back to review our decisions as leadership to find out if there were alternate decisions we could have taken.
We always tread carefully with those who go against the procedure,” he said. Boko said he cannot break apart the UDC because it is bigger than him. “No one can break the UDC, it is bigger than all of us, ke seboka, and we sacrificed and took losses since 2010 to make sure that no one can shake it,” he said.
On Sunday before the BCP expelled the MPs, Saleshando in his presidential address confirmed that he had met Boko, in response to calls by some Batswana who believe that no effort must be spared in protecting the unity of the opposition, in particular the UDC.
“Both of us, the BCP and BNF president, agree that where possible, no stone should be left unturned in protecting the gains we made in the 2019 general election.
In our meeting, we converged around some issues for our two parties to reflect over, which are lifting the suspensions of UDC NEC members, withdrawing the case against the UDC on suspensions, lifting the suspension on the five MPs, engaging on enhancing prospects of opposition victory in Moselewapula and engaging an independent facilitator for the UDC governance issues,” he highlighted. Saleshando said in terms of their governance protocols, he did not have the authority to commit to the issue of lifting the suspension of the MPs.
He said the MPs were duly suspended by the Central Committee and their fate lay in the hands of the central committee and the national conference. “The BCP also needs to strengthen its bases that have been destabilised by the elected representatives in the five constituencies of Okavango, Nkange, Selebi-Phikwe West, Palapye and Mahalapye West. We need to make one point very clear; no individual is bigger than the party.
Our general membership knows that the party always comes first, something that occasionally escapes the minds of those given the limited opportunity and privilege to serve as elected representatives,” he further highlighted.
Following the expulsion, Boko has since asked the BNF members to support the five MPs because they have suffered for what they believe in, which is the UDC. “They are soldiers who are not terrified by challenges because they understand where we are going,” Boko said. It is not clear what the next move could be for the MPs but Keorapetse has released a statement saying that the BCP conference took decisions, which the leadership now regrets. He said the leadership made a last minute attempt for reversal of suspensions from the UDC.
He indicated that there is nothing wrong with the BCP but there's absolutely everything wrong with the party's current leadership. “I have been a member of the BCP for 23 years. I have respected the BCP and its leaders since day one.
I will continue to respect the brand and its original mission and objectives. I have in great pain, watched the leadership and observed their sordid ways trying to unseat me from the constituency for the upcoming elections.
My greatest crime was my hardened belief in the project that is UDC, my perceived proximity to the UDC leader and my outstanding parliamentary performance. This didn’t go down well with them, from day one,” Keorapetse revealed in a statement.