Majaga bans councillor from Kgotla meetings
Chakalisa Dube | Monday September 11, 2023 06:00
Mmegi has established that Majaga has since instructed Kehitile through a cellular phone message that he should cease from attending his Kgotla/constituency meetings.
Kehitile doubles as Tutume District Council (TDC) chairperson and Dukwi councillor. Dukwi and some of the villages are under Majaga’s constituency. Kehitile quit the ruling party in 2019 after he was re-elected to council.
It is not clear why the two have fallen out, but sources have indicated that the two have not enjoyed a very good relationship for some time. When Kehitile left the ruling part for the BPF, he cited growing tension between him and Majaga as the reason for his decision to quit. At the time, Majaga denied tension between him and Kehitile.
Furthermore, there are reports that Majaga and Kehitile do not see eye-to-eye because the latter has openly expressed desire to contest for a parliamentary position at the 2024 General Election. Kehitile’s opponent would likely be Majaga should the incumbent legislator triumph at the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries later this year.
This week, Kehitile confirmed that Majaga sent him a text message unequivocally instructing him to cease from taking part in his Kgotla meetings. Kehitile said that Majaga did not explain why he (Kehitile) should not attend the Kgotla meetings.
“ Maybe he is unsettled by the fact that I want to challenge him at the next polls. My thinking is that we should continue working cordially to serve the people of Nata-Gweta in our respective roles.
Our political ambitions should not in any way impact on our roles as (MP and councillor) but I respect his decision to bar me from attending his Kgotla meetings. It is something that is beyond my control,” Kehitile told Mmegi.
He added that he has since delegated his deputy at the council to attend Kgotla meetings addressed by the legislator.
After the 2019 General Election, Majaga was accused of trying to block Kehitile from ascending to the position of deputy chairperson for Tutume Sub-district Council, but, Kehitile succeeded.
At the time Majaga denied the accusations against him saying that they were being peddled by those who want to soil his reputation. Tutume was converted into a fully-fledged district last year and Kehitile ascended to the position council chairperson.