Mashaba quits, then returns to BMD in a day
Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday March 3, 2015 10:55
Mashaba, one of the founding youths of the UDC member party, Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), lost the seat to cabinet minister Nonofo Molefhi.
The outspoken leader caused commotion within the BMD circles when out of the blue he announced on social media last Wednesday that he had resigned from the BMD. A day later, he withdrew his resignation.
“After a lot of soul searching and advice from family and friends I came to the conclusion that it is within my best interest and that of the party for me to withdraw my resignation from BMD,” he told Mmegi this week.
Responding to Mashaba’s initial resignation on Facebook, BMD cadres claimed the youth leader was disgruntled with the party’s recruitment of Oarabile Tshenyego, an independent candidate from the October 2014 general elections. Mashaba’s insinuations on his Facebook posts that he was considering returning to his former political home, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) also caused confusion, and anger from his colleagues.
Asked about the sudden change of heart, Mashaba said his was a decision taken after a thorough introspection. He said BMD was formed by comrades that were united in the struggle for social justice, prosperity for all and democracy.
“Some of us sacrificed our jobs to fight for this. The moment we lost in the general elections last year, we became useless entities.
“Well I did not expect the party to support us materially but it is hurtfulthat while we are still dedicating our efforts to the movement, our fellow comrades are busy recruiting others and preparing them to contest,” he said.
In his original resignation letter addressed to the BMD secretary general, Gilbert Mangole, Mashaba, who is also a member of the party’s national executive committee, said he has been a member for five years and was in fact one of its founders back in 2010.
Mashaba states that the party is at war with itself and that bitter recriminations and accusations of ‘scab’ have been bandied about.
“The atmosphere inside the party is ugly and toxic. This is not the party that I was involved in creating nor is it a party I want to continue participating in,’ he wrote.
For his part, Mangole said while he was unaware of Mashaba’s resignation, losing a member was not what the party was after.
“Mashaba is a hard worker and he has been very loyal to the party. I would be very disappointed if he indeed has resigned. In fact I am anxiously waiting to hear what is going on,” he said.