Police battle BDP wars
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday March 12, 2015 18:00
One of the members who preferred anonymity revealed to Mmegi this week that following our publication of a Facebook conversation of disgruntled members late last month, following the Masunga elective congress of the youth league, security agencies have been on their case. Following the publication, Ogaufi Nthobelang, the chairperson of Mahalapye East Constituency youth committee was arrested last Thursday.
“He was arrested at his home village in front of his mother, and other family members. They took his cellphone and drove him to Gaborone, and he was detained at Broadhurst Police Station from Friday night and Saturday night,” said the member.
She explained that Nthobelang spent the whole day at the police station and was told that his cellphone was taken to Directorate of Public Prosecutions for forensic analysis. “He was only freed after he spoke to assistant minister of local government and rural development Botlogile Tshireletso who is also MP for his area,” the source said.
Apparently, the Facebook conversation in which some members wished death upon the party secretary general Mpho Balopi and minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olopeng did not go down well with the authorities. “We have the rumour that the two gentlemen raised a complaint with the party leader who then ordered the arrest. Apparently he (Nthobelang) is facing charges of threat to kill, or wish for someone’s death, or both. We still do not understand the kind of charges he is facing. We also do not know if it is a crime to wish death upon someone,” said the source. The source said that there are some individuals who are using President Khama to push their agendas and personal gains.
“These days when you say something, you are threatened that President Khama doesn’t like this and that, very soon, when you are with your girlfriend you will be told, President Khama doesn’t want you to be with this girl. Ke mathata hela,” said the source.
Balopi confirmed that he reported to police because his life was being threatened but the matter had nothing to do with politics.
“I took action after reading your paper and I don’t take life threatening issues lightly. I read your newspaper, which attached the thread. Any issue that deals with life threatening is a legal issue. It is best if a police officers deal with the matter and it has to be clear that I did not know the alleged person,” Balopi said.
He dismissed as hogwash the allegations raised by the anonymous party members that the leadership of the party was using security agencies to resolve differences and said he did not report the matter because it involves a BDP person. The Broadhurst Station Commander Superintendent Bonosi Molapisi, has, meanwhile, denied knowledge of any case of ‘threat to kill’ for which suspect was detained from Thursday into the weekend. He entertained no further questions from us.
However, the Officer in Charge for CID Broadhurst Lenkwetse Phillimon confirmed that they are investigating the matter.
“We have not charged anyone yet but investigations are still on going. It is true we had detained the alleged person,” Phillimon said.
Assistant minister Tshireletso confirmed that she received a telephone call from Nthobelang asking for her intervention, and when she phoned the police, they refused to talk to her. “I did not play any role and could not help him, but Nthobelang phoned me informing me that he was in police custody on charges of threat to kill. The police refused to talk me after Nthobelang gave them his phone to talk to me. I’m still waiting to know what actually transpired,” she said. Efforts to speak to Nthobelang proved futile at time of going to press as his phone was off air.