Butale ponders next move
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday October 17, 2022 06:00
Butale was this week stopped in his tracks from returning to the helm of the party after being interdicted by the Lobatse High Court. Lobatse High Court's Justice Matlhogonolo Phuthego ruled in favour of the party's acting president, Caroline Lesang in a case in which she was challenging Butale’s claim to the presidency.
Lesang had asked the court to make an order interdicting Butale from convening, arranging, staging, chairing or presiding over any meeting of the NEC of the BPF and or any affiliates, organs or structures of the BPF. Butale was suspended as party president over allegations of sexual misconduct and later pardoned to return as an ordinary member. Before his interdiction by the court, he had been presenting himself as the party's president: one time during a press conference and recently at a political rally.
In an interview following the court’s ruling, Butale said they are (him and his team) still studying the judgement, and will decide his move in the next two to three days. “We will then weigh our options to see what the next move is. Appeal; we will see if it's worth our while to pursue it, but like I said we are still studying the judgement before determining our next move,” said Butale. However, the former Tati West legislator said he has no intentions of resigning from the party. “Resigning is not in my mind or one of the options. I have no intentions,” he added.
The loss in court has seemingly thrown Butale’s plans in disarray as he is not in control of the party. In his ruling, Justice Phuthego said there is no ambiguity that Butale continues to be barred from discharging the duties and functions of the office of the BPF president as he failed to appeal the Disciplinary Committee's decision to pardon him as just an ordinary member. “If Butale felt aggrieved by the decision of the Disciplinary Committee, the remedy did not lie in him ignoring its letter under the pretext that the Disciplinary Committee is not conferred with power to curtail his powers as the president of the BPF,” said Justice Phuthego. Justice Phuthego also said Butale ought to have appealed the decision to the Appeals Board.
The judge also nullified all the decisions taken by Butale’s NEC meetings, which include postponement of the party’s congress scheduled for end of this month as well as suspension of some members of the NEC. The judge said by joining the BPF, Butale was subjecting himself to complying with its constitution. The court also agreed with Lesang’s attorney, Osego Mapiki, that Butale’s actions could cause confusion amongst party members with the BPF’s elective congress penciled for October end. “The first respondent (Butale) is interdicted from convening, arranging, staging, chairing or presiding over any meeting or gathering of the national executive committee of the BPF and or any affiliate organ or structure of the BPF,” read Phuthego’s order.
The court also interdicted Tshekedi Khama from issuing any notices of meetings or facilitating meetings of the NEC of BPF by Butale. Moreover, the court ordered that all meetings that had been convened by Butale during his suspension and the effects thereof be and are hereby declared null and void, and of no force and effect. Butale is to pay the costs of the application.