Khama targets Masisi as BPF burns
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday April 14, 2023 15:23
It has been a problem after a problem in the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), a party that was founded on a desire to remove the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power.
The BPF is now a messy affair as fresh reports suggest that two factions of the party will on April 29, 2023 hold separate elective meetings in Gaborone (extra-ordinary congress) and Selebi-Phikwe (elective congress) respectively, in an endeavour to elect new leadership. One faction is led by the on exile Tshekedi Khama whilst party president Biggie Butale leads the other. As the party continues to burn, the leadership has seemingly removed its attention from saving a political project they started in 2019. It seems both factions are interested in affiliating to the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). It will be interesting to see which faction will in the end win the day. (See a story entitled, The BPF split and the comment).
It is also apparent that the formation of the BPF was also emotionally driven especially after the fall out of allies who could not face each other and genuinely resolve their differences. Hatred and suspicion characterised the Masisi/Khama fall out creating a barrier to an amicable solution to their troubles.
The BPF politburo has been at the centre of controversy with resignations of prominent members rocking the party that is an offshoot of the ruling BDP. The BPF was founded just on the verge of the 2019 General Election after Khama and some of his loyalists crossed the floor to a new party following former allies (Khama and Masisi’s) relationship that had broken down irretrievably.
Khama, who is now interested in becoming the BPF helmsman, pioneered as a party patron, a position that kept him at the party’s back office, albeit for Khama it was not possible to remain at the back forever.
He found himself literally the face of the BPF, often times overshadowing even the pioneering party president, Butale. This has apparently strained the Khama/Butale relationship to the core. Khama’s first attempt to ‘oust’ the Masisi-led government was in the 2019 General Election. The former president chose to abandon a party that his father founded with others pre-independence, to pursue his new found political love.
Although he was a reluctant politician after his resignation from the army where he was the army commander, former president Festus Mogae who wanted to protect his presidency which was threatened by some senior party operatives, recruited Khama.
The late South African political consultant Professor Lawrence Schlemmer had recommended Khama as the man who could help Mogae solidify his presidency as at the time, he (Khama) was not immersed in the party’s factions. He was also deemed to be popular.
It all started after Masisi ascended to the presidency as the fifth State President that fissures started to show between Masisi and his former boss. As soon as the two allies fell apart, the nation witnessed unprecedented leakage of official communications from the Office of President (OP) on matters between Khama and the Masisi administration. This would open a protracted battle between the two former allies. There was recklessness as State linen was washed in public. At the outset of the Masisi/Khama fracas, the latter raised a concern that the State was reversing some key policies adopted during his tenure in the presence of the incumbent. At some stage, he (Khama) vowed to, “fix a mistake I made in appointing Masisi to be my successor, and it’s important that before the elections I try and join with the other parties to ensure that he and his party are removed.”
Khama had also claimed in previous interviews that when he vacated office, he intended to completely leave politics, “but here I am now more involved in politics than ever when I was president because I am determined to make sure this man (Masisi) goes.”
President Masisi on April 1, 2023 commemorated his fifth anniversary in office after a promising performance in the last general election with his party garnering a stable 52%, followed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) with 35.88 %, the Alliance for Progressives (AP) at 5.12 % and the BPF standing at 4.41 %.
It is still under his stewardship of the BDP-led government that Masisi witnessed the strong coalition of the tri-party Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) suffering another major split with an important partner the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) on its way out after declaring that the UDC marriage has irretrievably broken down.
Despite its not-so-pleasing performance, the BPF still has potential especially in the Central District. This is where the party won three Serowe-based constituencies, which since independence were the BDP unshakable stronghold. Legislator Mephato Reatile would later decamp from the BDP to join the BPF becoming the party’s fourth legislator.
According to its members, the BPF has a strong presence in the Central District and unfortunately in the last polls, it did not have candidates in many areas as it was formed just on the verge of the last polls. So, the BPF also played assists in other constituencies in the Central District where the beneficiary was mainly the UDC.
Just a fortnight ago, Khama told Mmegi that he still intends to run for the BPF presidency. The big question now is whether Batswana can still trust him with such a mammoth responsibility especially amid allegations that he uses the BPF to settle scores with the Masisi administration.
“I can understand why the question is asked. It’s my hope that any trust lost in the BPF will be restored very soon,” Khama promised.
Khama, who in previous interviews raised his voice that he was not a politician, now seems to have found hope in politics to influence things his own way.
Unfortunately, his party has recently been rocked by resignations including that of the BPF vice president, Caroline Lesang who quit the party after President Masisi spoke in Shoshong during celebrations appreciating the recruitment of an opposition legislator, Aubrey Lesaso.
“I pray to God for us to meet at some point...To ask for each other’s forgiveness,” President Masisi had told a political rally, in Shoshong, one of the strongholds of Khama and the BPF.
The President had raised reconciliatory hope, which is yet to see the light of day.
Lesang, who had acted for sometime as party president when the substantive party president Biggie Butale was on suspension, could not take kindly to Khama’s acceptance to dance to the tune of Masisi with promises of reconciliation.
“After careful consideration of recent events in our politics, I have decided to make the hard and difficult decision to part ways with my comrades as the party is now being used in personal reconciliation negotiations and essentially being sold to the highest bidder for personal interest,” Lesang wrote to the party upon her resignation.
Her departure was followed by the resignation of another executive member Samson Moyo Guma who amongst others accused Khama of tribalism, bullying and power hungry accusations, which Khama would later dismiss as untrue and baseless.
Khama is trying to amass his political arsenal at a time when the State has issued a warrant of his arrest on a charge of illegal possession of firearms. He has been formerly charged, but he is yet to appear before court and he has, however, vowed to challenge the arrest warrant. Khama is currently on self-imposed exile in the neighbouring South Africa. A BPF executive member when quizzed about Khama’s seemingly ‘unbalanced’ approach that sees him attacking President Masisi than selling the party to the masses concedes there must be a balance.
“Assuming we are able to successfully attack President Masisi, all the time, then lose power. We should have focus and work towards attaining State power,” emphasised the BPF executive that preferred anonymity.
When quizzed if he was aware that he was spending more time on his differences with Masisi than promoting the BPF manifesto, former president Khama told Mmegi in a WhatsApp conversation; ” A united front which encompasses parties agreeing to work together to remove the CAVA (BDP government) at the next elections translates into the BPF achieving that objective (of removing the Masisi-led BDP) in such a manner and in unity with others and not to go at it alone and contesting against like-minded political entities who have the same objective.”
Khama chose to ignore a question suggesting that he has lost focus now to the extent that the BPF seem to be fighting personal battles with Masisi than the real political business of moving towards actually removing the BDP from power.
He explained his plans; “The BPF manifesto is envisioned to incorporate a joint declaration of intent with other parties’ input towards a single document that outlines the programmes and policies that will be delivered to the people of our nation upon the formation of a new government.”
Even with this explanation, pundits are worried that time is slowly running out for Khama who has been using all his political energies talking about the Masisi administration instead of sharing what the BPF as a party will deliver to the masses once trusted with power.