Serowe to decide the fate of the lone wolf
Spira Tlhankane | Friday October 31, 2025 12:36
The incumbent Mephato Reatile is urging the party to trust the forest, believing that only by staying separate can the BPF define itself, keep its colours bright, and not be swallowed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). His presidential challenger, BPF secretary-general Lawrence Ookeditse, meanwhile, carries a gentler voice of caution. He insists the road to 2029 is smoother together in the highway and that the party is tired of hitting stones alone.
The BPF heads into its much-anticipated congress, and the air is thick with tension, loyalty, and political calculus. What began as a party founded to carry forward the legacy of former president Ian Khama now stands at a decisive crossroads. The party is torn between maintaining its hard-won independence and rejoining the ruling UDC coalition.
The Congress already promises fireworks behind the civility of political speeches. It will determine not only the leadership of the BPF but also the party’s strategic future, one that could tilt the balance of Botswana’s opposition politics ahead of the 2029 General Election.
The BPF’s trajectory has been as dramatic as its birth. Formed in 2019 amid Khama’s fallout with the former ruling party, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), it quickly became the home for Bangwato loyalists and anti-Masisi forces. Yet, six years later, its identity is still up for debate.
At the heart of the congress lies a question that has haunted the BPF since it walked out of the UDC last year: should the BPF remain a standalone party or return to the coalition fold? The congress will vote on whether to reaffirm independence or reopen talks with the UDC. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Reatile, who led the BPF out of the UDC, is defending his presidency. He says he consulted the membership country-wide and that the decision to pull out of the UDC last year was “what the members wanted”. “We have no arrangement with the UDC outside Parliament and councils,” he told the media last week. He indicated that the BPF must learn to stand on its own two feet.
But not everyone agrees, and that person is Ookeditse, who comes out as an emotional challenger with his delicate rebellion. In politics, challenges often come with daggers drawn, but it is not so with Ookeditse, at least that’s what he told the press recently.
His decision to contest the presidency has been couched in respect and heartbreak. “It breaks my heart to challenge Reatile,” a line that has since echoed across Botswana’s political chatter like a sigh of conscience.
Yet heartbreak does not blunt ambition. Those close to Ookeditse describe his challenge as both personal and philosophical. He represents a faction within the BPF that believes isolation is political suicide. To them, the 2024 General Election showed what fragmented votes can do. Ookeditse sees rejoining the UDC as the pragmatic path forward.
“Ookeditse is a strategist. He knows the emotional pull of independence, but he also reads the numbers. Alone, the BPF risks marginalisation. In coalition, it regains bargaining power,” said a member of Ookeditse’s camp.
Speaking of camps, Reatile’s frames the choice differently. Independence, they argue, is not isolation but integrity. Reatile, who lost his Jwaneng-Mabutsane legislative seat to the UDC last year, says he is not an enemy of the UDC but insists that the BPF must build its house before renting a room in another. That metaphor captures his philosophy, and he wants to take the call for institutional maturity before external alliances. Reatile’s supporters say that joining UDC again without clarity would be like going back to a bad marriage. But the counterargument from the pro-UDC bloc is that politics is not therapy but its mathematics. Alone, they believe, the BPF may be principled but powerless.
At its core, this is a debate about strategy, not emotion. Botswana’s politics have long grappled with fragmentation. The 2024 General Election confirmed it, and while the UDC managed to oust the BDP, independent parties like the BPF struggled to break beyond regional strongholds. Thus, the congress becomes more than an internal party meeting, but it’s a referendum on the future of politics in Botswana.
The Reatile–Ookeditse dynamic has captivated both supporters and detractors because it lacks the bitterness typical of political contests. Ookeditse and Reatile have shared trenches in the same movement, fought the same battles, and rallied under the same Khama-inspired banner.
But emotions aside, their duel encapsulates the age-old struggle between loyalty and ambition. Insiders say Congress will be emotional, but disciplined.
Both camps have instructed supporters to avoid mudslinging, a reflection of the party’s desire to project maturity. Yet, beneath the politeness lies raw competition. Reatile, for his part, insists there is no bad blood: “We are not throwing stones at each other; we want Batswana to have a choice.” But beneath the good manners is a potent struggle for the soul of the BPF.
The fact that the congress will take place in Serowe is itself symbolic.
The village is the cradle of the BPF, Khama’s heartland, where loyalty runs deep. Delegates from across Botswana will converge there not only to vote but to reaffirm what the BPF stands for.
Whatever happens, this congress is the BPF’s most defining moment since its formation. It is a test of maturity, unity, and clarity of purpose. It’s where the party must decide whether it remains a political offshoot of a legacy, or evolves into a modern opposition force capable of national reach.
The congress may end with hugs, slogans, and unity chants, but the ripples will run far beyond the walls of the Serowe meeting hall. Either way, Serowe 2025 will be remembered as the moment when the BPF finally chose its path.
Two possible paths post-congress:
l Reatile retains power and independence, wins the day. The BPF remains outside the UDC, doubling down on grassroots mobilisation. The challenge will be whether it can sustain relevance nationally.
l Ookeditse triumphs, opening the door to UDC negotiations. A diplomatic pivot occurs. The BPF seeks coalition talks, possibly rejoining under redefined terms.