BPF ‘interim committee’ Palapye meet draws few
Innocent Selatlhwa | Wednesday November 26, 2025 06:00
Whilst Palapye could be seen as a central venue and also located within the Central region where the BPF is strong, attendance was notably low.
Briefing attendants of the meeting, General Secretary of the committee Segaetsho Garekwe said that the Lawrence Ookeditse-led faction had almost abandoned the party, even supporting the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in the Kgalagadi South by-election.
“Reatile found us camping there, preparing for elections. At that time, there were many other BPF members in the area, but they were busy campaigning for the UDC. Even during radio debates, they were not with us, but sat with the UDC,” he said.
Garekwe said after listening to the radio debate, it was evident that the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was leading, based on experts’ assessments. “The BDP had 90%, followed by BPF with 80%, Botswana Congress Party (BCP) had 70%, and UDC was trailing at 50%. Even by just going around the constituency, I could tell that the BDP was ahead. I told them that despite what is happening on the ground, the loser on the ground would be the winner after the elections,” he said.
He said Ookeditse only visited their camp in the evening, a day before the elections, just to greet them. He said they had assembled a team of 12 people from the Central region to help in the campaign. He said it was upon their return that Reatile said it was time he stepped aside and allowed the interim committee to continue and move the party forward towards elections without him.
“We pleaded with him to stay until elections, and he asked to be given time, only to return after two days and pleaded that he be released and told us that the constitution allows them to elect someone else. The committee had to continue the work, and the then vice-president Thoko Muzila could not take over as president, hence we ended up opting for Gaolathe Galebotswe,” he said.
Garekwe said they were currently busy planning for the congress, appointing committees, and assigning people to regions, constituencies, and wards. He said that, through the meeting, they had called leaders from constituencies to tell them the way forward. He said they were shocked to see Reatile state he was handing over the presidency to Ookeditse at a press conference. He said whatever Reatile and Ookeditse agreed on, they were not privy to.
He said that whilst Ookeditse’s team wanted to play politics by hosting rallies and attracting people through music, they do not care about politics, but are just following the constitution.
He said they have since decided they are not going to court, but rather reported to the Registrar of Societies to help determine who is right to lead the BPF. “Hopefully, we will meet with the director this week and sort the matter for finality. If we are wrong, we will admit it,” he said.