‘Invisible hand’ behind BPF troubles
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday July 31, 2023 06:00
There are two camps one led by allegedly expelled president Biggie Butale and the other by vice president and now purportedly acting President Mephato Reatile.
The latter in their media briefing this week following Butale’s court victory on Monday, said they believe that Butale has been captured by the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to break their party apart.
When the part’s Disciplinary Committee (DC) suspended Butale on July 4, the secretary of the organ accused him of failing to declare funds received on behalf of the party and for allegedly working with party rivals to destabilise the BPF. The Youth league of the BPF also allegedly complained about Butale to the secretary-general (SG). Reatile’s camp is backed by the BPF patron and former president Ian Khama, SG Tshekedi Khama and BPF legislators while Butale has former Minister Moiseraele Goya and BPF secretary for education Reitumetse Aphiri on his side, among others. While Reatile’s camp was quick to emphasise that Butale’s court victory does not affect his current expulsion state, the Jwaneng Mabutsane legislator indicated that Butale failed to disclose where he got the money because he was bound to put the party in trouble.
Lobatse High Court's Justice Michael Motlhabi on Monday ordered that Butale's June 5, 2023, suspension is to be set aside and that the respondents in the case being the BPF secretary-general (SG) Tshekedi, secretary for sports, arts and culture Lazarus Lekgoanyana, Ford Moiteela, Prince Bosilong, Khama (Ian), Motswasele Kganetso, Dr Kolaatamo Malefho, party spokesperson Lawrence Ookeditse, and Amogelang Mokwena are in contempt of the court and therefore face possible jail time. “Butale is a person accused of working with the ruling party. Some have asked why we have not left Butale with a shell by leaving the BPF.
The answer is we are not going to do that. This is our party and we will not let Butale sell it to our opponents,” Ookeditse told the media in a press conference this week.
For his part, Lekgoanyana indicated that they have realised that there is an invisible hand behind all the BPF current troubles. “As the BPF NEC we are not about to hate anyone. We are an organisation which has a constitution and if we find out that one is trampling on the latter and behaving like a captured person, we are going to fight to protect the organisation that we sacrificed so much to get it where it is,” he emphasised. He said the cooperation between the BPF and the UDC has angered some because it brings results like what happened in the recent victory at the by-election in Serowe. “Butale wants the BPF to be run by the courts and secret state agents,” he said. Lekgoanyana said they do not have a problem with Butale but they are against his actions which are working with their rivals.
In response to the allegations that he was bought by the ruling BDP to destabilise the BPF, Butale said his belief is that some people want to tarnish his good image by associating him with the BDP. “I want evidence that I was bought with P2,500 and that indeed the BDP had bought a house for me,” he told Mmegi in an interview this week. While Butale himself believes party patron, Khama, is “part of the cohort causing instability within the BPF”, last month during a rally ahead of the Serowe West by-election, Khama lambasted Butale for causing divisions within the party with endless court cases. “I don’t agree with people who want to break apart the BPF because we come from far,” he said. Khama said Butale should not pretend to be a BPF member who loves the party but not peace.