Fresh turmoil rattles BPF
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday September 3, 2025 10:15
The conference, originally scheduled for Friday, was pushed to Saturday due to the pending case.
The matter was first set for a hearing last Friday but was postponed to Tuesday after the applicants told the court they had only been served with the party’s replying papers that same morning.
Speaking at the national conference held in Molepolole on Saturday, party president Mephato Reatile did not hold back.
He said it is time the BPF made a firm decision regarding members who repeatedly drag the party to the courts.
“Though our party was only formed in 2018, it has approached the courts several times than some long-established parties,” he said.
“That’s not good. Our members are destroying the very party they claim to build.”
He said the political organisation has spent over P700,000 on more than a dozen court cases.
Reatile warned that such infighting undermines stability and growth, adding that there is a worrying level of indiscipline brewing within the ranks.
According to him, some individuals tried to sabotage the conference by lobbying others not to attend — actions he described as “unacceptable”. Those actions, he added, now appear to have drawn consequences.
Meanwhile, in a letter dated August 21, 2025, the BPF announced the suspension of the six members who brought the case to court.
The party’s secretary-general Lawrence Ookeditse cited serious allegations, including encouraging insurrection, defying National Executive Committee (NEC) decisions, and publicly criticising fellow members in violation of party rules.
The suspended individuals are: Ditiro Kelebeile, Ookeditse Malesu, Segaetsho Gaarekwe, Thaka Baboneng, Loeto Porati, and Barulaganye Kgosana.
Their 90-day suspension was effective immediately. According to the letter, during this period pending disciplinary outcomes, they are barred from attending party meetings, representing the BPF in the media, or using the party’s name and branding in any capacity.
The BPF, once viewed as a fresh alternative in Botswana’s political scene, now finds itself caught in a cycle of courtroom battles and internal tensions, a pattern that continues to test its unity and future.