UDC’s self destruction post 2019
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday September 19, 2022 06:00
Licking wounds
After losing the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency to Annah Mokgethi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the 2019 General Elections, the UDC president Duma Boko went underground while his deputy Dumelang Saleshando attended President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s inauguration on November 1, 2019.
Saleshando had won Maun West after a five-year hiatus from Parliament while Boko had tasted defeat despite leading the UDC to a historic moment where they managed to win 15 parliamentary seats, the majority of them in the Central District. Boko was boiling inside, he did not expect the loss and of all the moves he made ahead of the election, this is the one result he did not see coming.
With pressure mounting on the UDC, Boko filed parliamentary elections petitions against the ruling BDP at the High Court citing irregularities. The UDC explained that with the petitions they wanted to expose the BDP for allegedly rigging the 2019 General Elections. The UDC wanted the court to set aside the results of the elections.
But, towards the end of December 2019, the High Court dismissed the petitions with costs.
The UDC still failed to concede the defeat and in January 2020 Boko came back reinvigorated this time taking the case to the highest court in the land, the Court of Appeal (CoA). The CoA then dismissed UDC’s 14 election petitions with costs citing lack of jurisdiction. It was basically the end of the road for the UDC and the only option was to map a way forward and they still had five more years before the next general elections in 2024.
Arrival of the pandemic
Then COVID-19 hit the world in March 2020 and everything including politics halted. Perhaps, the last kick of the UDC before all the lockdowns was when the opposition opposed Masisi’s request to extend the State of emergency to six months but failed. The pandemic was still wrecking havoc and the UDC had to deal with election petitions’ legal bills allegedly standing at millions of pula.
Moatlhodi: The first crack
Tensions within the then tri-party coalition started when the UDC suspended then Opposition Whip Pono Moatlhodi from his position. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tonota was suspended for allegedly assaulting a minor and then offering to pay P40, 000 for withdrawal of charges. For Moatlhodi, it was a torrid few months and in October 2020, the BNF Tonota constituency chairman suspended him for ‘unbecoming behaviour’ among other things. In December that year the current Deputy Speaker eventually quit the UDC to join the BDP saying he does not see himself in the same party as Saleshando.
Moswaane: A big catchBut in the midst of all the Moatlhodi fracas, the UDC, however, managed to catch a big fish from the BDP in Francistown West legislator Ignatius Moswaane. Moswaane ended speculation surrounding his next political destination by confirming he was joining the UDC on September 2020. But things went from bad to worse in the UDC as they lost yet another legislator when in January 2021, the MP for Shoshong Aubrey Lesaso dumped the UDC to join the ruling BDP.
Saleshando speaks out
More cracks started to show few months later when Saleshando told the media that the Umbrella is wrecked. He confessed that it is time they admit as UDC leaders that all was not well. At the time, Saleshando was slammed for washing the UDC’s dirty linen in public. He had shockingly announced that he had not spoken to Boko in 2021.
Boko however, denied any bad blood. Shortly after Saleshando’s revelations, the UDC NEC convened a meeting in Palapye to address concerns. It was during the Palapye meeting where the UDC leaders agreed to arrange a retreat and unity-building exercise to put down the wrangling and tensions that had built up in the coalition. While the BCP and Saleshando expected the meeting to address governance challenges within the coalition, nothing of that sort materialised.
By-election cool off
As the internal squabbles cooled off for a while, there was a huge win for the UDC which had joined hands with the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and the Alliance for Progressives (AP) where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on by-elections was signed. The alliance saw the UDC winning eight out of the 11 council seats contested in December 2021.
Bophirima shakes the house
The UDC was on a winning streak but a by-election in Bophirima ward in Gaborone beginning of this year is what finally broke the camel’s back. In March 2022, the UDC released a press statement announcing Mankie Sekete of the BNF as the UDC candidate for Bophirima ward in the Gaborone Bonnington South.
This was an unpopular decision for the BCP and the latter’s central committee (CC) took a decision to field its preferred candidate, Peter Mogapi with their name, symbol and colours.
The CC also revealed that its decision did not mark the official withdrawal of the BCP from the coalition UDC. The BCP CC said this decision was meant to mark the beginning of a resolute stand against unilateralism and dictatorship in the UDC. They accused Boko of spurning all efforts to convene a NEC meeting to discuss the ward.
Boko then broke the silence on the matter by revealing that the decision to field Sekete as the UDC candidate for Bophirima was not taken in secret but rather determined by the UDC leadership and the NEC.
The BCP quintet
The decision to go at it alone in Bophirima was not welcomed by some of the BCP MPs and it was the start of more internal fights. The legislators Dithapelo Keorapetse, Kenny Kapinga, Onneetse Ramogapi, Dr Never Tshabang, and David Tshere refused to help their party to campaign against the UDC at Bophirima.
Even with the AP on their side, the BCP later lost to the UDC. After losing Bophirima, the BCP revealed that its next move will depend on how the issues of the constitution, democracy and governance are handled at the UDC and within the broader opposition cooperation talks. The BCP did not outright dismiss the possible formation of another coalition with the AP and described the union as ‘spontaneous’. The BCP stated that the potentially very productive relationship will assume a life of its own post Bophirima.
Saleshando, Kekgonegile suspension
The UDC NEC went back to Palapye where they decided to suspend its deputy, Saleshando alongside BCP secretary-general, Goretetse Kekgonegile. Boko revealed after the suspension that Saleshando and Kekgonegile went behind UDC’s back and proved to be two-mouthed giants. Boko said the suspended duo destroyed and belittled the coalition, and in the process burned the UDC house down.
After their suspension Saleshando said there was no way they could suspend him from the UDC because he was not a UDC member. Even after being suspended, Saleshando said they did not apologise because they feel strongly about the issues they raised.
He said they wanted a conflict resolution mechanism within the UDC but that was never granted. Saleshando and Kekgonegile then challenged their suspensions arguing that there was nowhere in the constitution of the UDC that gives Boko any powers to suspend them. The duo filed a case before court seeking among others for their suspension from the UDC to be declared unlawful and invalid.
Keorapetse LoO defiance
Soon after Saleshando’s suspension, the UDC arranged a parley caucus to replace the latter as the Leader of Opposition (LoO). The BCP then barred their legislators from attending the said caucus but the five BCP members who had been at odds with the party leadership defied their party and attended the caucus which removed Saleshando and replaced him with Keorapetse.
The defiance riled BCP members ahead of their national conference and the quintet was suspended from the BCP. In what was an unexpected move, Boko and Saleshando met ahead of the BCP’s national conference and the BNF’s elective congress where they talked about a lot of issues among them lifting the suspensions of the five BCP legislators and withdrawal of the Saleshando and Kekgonegile suspension case. The BCP’s July national conference gave the UDC six months period to rethink its position on important issues like governance, transparency in the coalition. In another unforeseen move, the conference resolved to expel all the five MPs from the party. The MPs later told the media that they were subjected to mob justice rather than a fair disciplinary hearing. The MPs believed that reconciliation could still work with their former party provided it still wants to be part of the UDC. Four of them have since opted to remain as ordinary UDC members without any political party.
BCP, AP coalition gains momentum
Towards the end of July, Moselewapula ward by-election was held where the BCP once again lost to the UDC but this time with a small margin of five votes. The loss however, gave the BCP motivation and last month they officially launched negotiation talks with the AP for the 2024 General Elections, something that started bothering the UDC. The AP and the BCP want to build a ‘democratic and accountable’ alternative to the BDP and the UDC. The BCP even pointed out that the UDC’s attitude had forced them to pursue the alternative.
The arrival of BPF
As the BCP and the AP started carving their own path, the UDC welcomed the BPF into the coalition. It was announced that the BPF will have equal representation and rights in the UDC NEC. The UDC indicated that BCP was not part of the meeting which welcomed BPF into the coalition because the Saleshando-led party had long decided to snub the UDC NEC meetings.
Kapinga retraces steps
Last week the BCP announced that the MP for Okavango Kenny Kapinga had applied for readmission into the BCP after being expelled alongside four others last month. Kapinga’s application has been welcomed by the BCP without reservation.
UDC ultimatum
On Sunday Boko told UDC members in Mahalapye that the NEC has decided to give the BCP MPs and councillors until September 26 to decide where they stand.
Boko said they should write to the UDC and indicate whether or not they will contest the 2024 elections under the UDC.
Responding to the UDC NEC decision, this week the BCP spokesperson, Dr Mpho Pheko expressed disappointment in the decision.
“This is the type of crass transactional politics we have come to expect from the UDC. It is offensively undemocratic and tramples on the social democratic ethos in the vilest of manners. Above all, it is yet another devious but ill-thought attempt to divide the BCP. This attempt will fail,” further reads the statement. Pheko also said no self-respecting member of the BCP will respond to “this infantile ultimatum”.
What now?
Now it remains to be seen what would become of the BCP MPs and councillors after September 26 and what will happen to Saleshando and Kekgonegile when their suspension elapses next month. The latter has since revealed that they have not received their suspension letters to date.