BPF’s rough road
Ryder Gabathuse | Sunday November 9, 2025 12:54
The BPF is joining the rest of the local political formations, which bear multiple political scars from past experiences. In fact, all Botswana political parties have been exhibiting various behaviours and taking risks. Key to all these political trials and tribulations is how best they are managed to contain them, as there is life beyond all the brouhaha. In 1998, the main opposition Botswana Congress Party (BCP) was born in Palapye, a few kilometres from where the BPF held its tumultuous meeting. The main push out of the BNF was disagreements amongst the BNF head honchos who differed with Dr Kenneth Koma, the party’s founding leader.
It seems BDP splinter parties are cursed, as in the past, the 2010 splinter Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) further split, giving rise to the Alliance for Progressives (AP) after a bloody encounter in Bobonong, where the planned elective congress turned bloody. The BMD suffered permanent impairment as today it’s a complete shadow of itself.
The BPF was founded, amongst others, by the former president Ian Khama (and his equally exasperated loyalists) after a fallout with the past immediate Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and former State president Mokgweetsi Masisi. The former president, Masisi, considered Khama a threat to his tenure.
The duo’s differences progressed to the extent that Khama at some stage faced ‘trumped up’ charges like the illegal possession of weapons of war and financing terrorism, which could not hold at all, but were meant to ‘fix’ him and taint his name. The charges were without merit.
The State was forced to return Khama’s weapons after a court decision, leaving the master of it all, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, with egg on its face. The Botswana government would later be forced by Ambassador Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe to apologise for malicious prosecution against herself, Khama and a collateral damage spy agent, Welheminah ‘Butterfly’ Maswabi.
Khama’s emphasis was that the party he pioneered as a patron was formed uniquely with the notion of ousting the Masisi-led BDP, which has ruled the country for almost six decades, continuously.
Post 2019 General Election, Khama’s BPF won only three Serowe-based constituencies, and only increased the constituencies won to five in the 2024 General Election.
Khama, who wears many hats, including the paramount chief of the Bangwato tribe, has roped in a sparkle of tribal politics in an endeavour to fulfil his mission of ousting the BDP from power.
Khama is the only former president who rebelled against his former party and successfully de-campaigned it openly until his mission was accomplished. He then, at least according to his word, chose to abandon political activism as he had accomplished his mission.
He has since taken up his birthright role at the Serowe kgotla as a tribal leader of a vast GammaNgwato territory, which includes many other tribes that lie within his jurisdiction. He is the only former president who enjoys ‘double’ salaries from the government.
It’s slowly proving that overdependence on a single leader risks the collapse of a movement if that leader exits, faces disqualification, or loses popularity. Khama’s exit from active politics was celebrated by members of his tribe, but it was still apparent that the party still needed him the most to maintain the requisite peace that is proving elusive.
Many parties, including the BPF, lack professional internal structures, relying instead on charisma-driven leadership rather than institutionalised processes. The BPF has a lot to work on for its stability. Unclear or contested leadership succession has been destabilising the party, leading to, amongst others, internal power struggles.
Botswana’s political landscape is characterised by a dominant party system with opposition parties facing various challenges in their efforts to gain power and represent citizens’ interests. The BPF is one such party with a dream of winning government. Its main challenge is foundational. Founded in Serowe, the party has, however, started spreading its wings to other areas across the country in its endeavour to be national, but the party’s journey has been besieged by unending controversy.
Less than a year post-2024 General Election, the BPF skirmishes are intensifying. Towards the 2024 General Election, the BPF went for a long time without parliamentary candidates, especially in the safe constituencies of Serowe South, North and West.
It was just chaos and chaos. In fact, when Khama and his family went on a self-imposed exile in the neighbouring South Africa, the situation worsened.
Khama was often forced to address political rallies remotely from across the border in an endeavour to restore elusive peace. But people were able to listen to him, as there was relative peace at the time. Khama also influenced people to rebel against the former president, Biggie Butale, until he (Butale) lost grip of the party, ultimately forcing him to form his own party, Botswana Republican Party (BRP) out of frustration, which has been struggling to find its feet.
Since he joined the chieftainship proper, the BPF has not known peace again for some time. There has been an unnecessary fight for the control of a party that was enjoying acceptance, riding on the goodwill of the so-called Khama magic. Political analysts, however, indicate that what is happening to the BPF was bound to happen for a new party that is still finding its feet. They feel after the current storm, peace will finally return to the BPF fold.
One of the memorable moments in the life of the BPF is the trumped-up ‘charges’ of immorality against the deposed former president Butale, whose survival efforts collapsed, and he was forced to exit, anyway.
The party, young as it is, has been to court many times, and it seems it cannot run its affairs without going to court, as if it wants to relegate the running of the party to the courts of law.
At some stage before Butale finally yielded to internal party pressure, the BPF had two presidents, Butale and Mephato Reatile, just like it’s the case today with Lawrence Ookeditse claiming the presidential seat that Reatile is refusing to let go.
There is one important factor that warring parties fail to understand. Bangwato are both conservative and sensitive in nature. If by any chance, the tribe could sense that any of the warring parties, either Ookeditse or Reatile, are anti-Khama, they know their fate. When Masisi attacked Khama, Bangwato chose to firmly stand with their chief, and the BDP suffered the humiliation of being dumped by the majority.
There is a likelihood of one of the two presidential candidates finding himself out of favour with the people.
Butale was found to be having challenges with compliance with Khama’s wishes, and this was the breaking point. BPF loyalists listen to Khama the more.
Reatile stood firmly against the BPF affiliating to the ruling Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which cost him the Jwaneng-Mabutsane constituency that he lost to the UDC. On the other hand, Ookeditse has been appointed as the Assistant Minister of Health in a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ whose terms remains unclear. Now, there is a tug-of-war between Reatile and Ookeditse as they hold varying opinions about the participation of the BPF in the UDC coalition. This is a tricky one because out of the blue, the BPF fielded a candidate in the impending by-election in the vacant Kgalagadi South constituency, disregarding the ‘agreement’ it has with the UDC.
The Reatile-led group feel the BPF has to enjoy its independence from the UDC, whilst the Ookeditse axis is for unity of purpose for the opposition. There is, however, no clear mandate that defines the position of the BPF as a single entity.
Instead of warring, the BPF as an institution requires a real deal in institutional reform, clear succession plans, policy-driven campaigning, and digital literacy, which are key strategies for building stronger, future-ready parties.
Accused as a regional and tribal party based mainly in Serowe, the BPF’s home to its congresses and conferences has consistently been meeting in Serowe, the capital of the GammaNgwato.
Serowe is slowly proving to be the haven for the BPF, at least in the past two national polls, but a hoodoo place for the important elective meetings.
Political observers insist it’s time the BPF “desists from behaving like babies learning how to walk and aren’t taking a few steps on their own by 15 months or is not walking independently by 18 months of age”.
It’s apparent that Khama has been the glue holding the party together, and his departure has left the BPF vulnerable to endless fights to the extent that differences metamorphose to unmanageable chaos.
The party seems to be suffering from a developmental path and recommends a physical or occupational therapist if needed.
Growing a political party is not easy, but it’s possible if you’re willing to do the work. Identifying your challenges and devising creative solutions to overcome them is essential. If you can face these challenges, you’ll be well on growing a successful political party.
However, using the right tools and strategies, you can overcome these obstacles and create a successful party that will make the country a better place.
Political parties often deal with factionalism, leadership struggles, ideological splits, and conflicts between senior and emerging leaders that weaken unity and strategic focus.
Balancing loyalty, merit, caste, gender, and regional representation during candidate selection often sparks controversy and dissatisfaction within party ranks. Shifting ideologies to chase voter sentiment can erode authenticity and cause confusion among supporters, weakening long-term credibility.
As parties grow larger, they risk becoming disconnected from local communities, reducing their ability to address real issues and mobilise effectively.
Political scientist Professor Zibani Maundeni of the University of Botswana (UB) told Mmegi this week that it was not surprising that chaos has visited the BPF, “since it’s a new organisation”.
“When they are new, it means they don’t know which rules work for them or not. It’s expected that such chaos can happen within their ranks.”
He mentioned that the founding of the BPF is also linked to Khama, who pioneered as the party patron.
“There were two parallel centres of power between the patron and the party president. It was not just simple that the party diehards would follow the party president,” he observed.
He also noted the way Butale was removed from the party presidency, emphasising “it shows who was in control at the time”.
“Now, the patron is a civil servant and out of the running of the party. These things are expected to happen.” To him, the party is passing through a learning phase after which they will appreciate the running of a political organisation proper.