Ntsima headed to BDP?
Chakalisa Dube | Friday March 19, 2021 23:20
Last week after quitting the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Ntsima was still to decide which party to join. However, various sources have indicated that it was only a matter of time before he was officially welcomed into the ruling BDP.
“ He has agreed in principle that he will join the party (BDP),” an insider at BDP said this week. Last week, Ntsima said that he intended to contest the 2024 general elections as a parliamentary candidate. “ I am currently in a cooling off period but I will decide which party I am joining soon,” Ntsima said this week in a follow-up interview before confirming that some key BDP members in the constituency were asking him join the party.
In preparation for the 2024 general elections, President Mokgweetsi Masisi reportedly assembled a team dedicated to strengthening the party by recruiting some individuals who will amongst others contest the 2024 general elections under the BDP ticket.
Moeteledi Senkhu who is said to be one of Masisi’s right-hand men leads the team. Senkhu and some members of the BDP Francistown region are said to have played a leading role in the recruitment of Ntsima to the BDP. There are reports that Ntsima has already been promised that he will be given special preference to contest the Francistown South constituency. Indications from close sources are that the party intended to persuade Modiri Lucas and other prospective candidates from contesting the primaries in order to pave way for Ntsima.
Ntsima is viewed as a strong and perfect candidate who can help the ruling party reclaim the Francistown South constituency from the opposition. Both Ntsima and Lucas lost to Wynter Mmolotsi of the Alliance for Progressives (AP) in the 2019 general elections. Lucas has on several occasions openly declared desire to contest the 2024 general elections in the constituency.
He is currently a nominated Councillor in Francistown. Sources have maintained that Lucas is not prepared to agree to a compromise deal that would see him paving way for Ntsima, something that might ultimately course tension within the party. Lucas, according to insiders has vowed to strongly fight attempts to block him from contesting the BDP primaries meant to book candidacy for the general elections.
In addition there were suggestions that the party wanted Lucas to contest the elections at a council level, a deal he was not prepared to take. Yesterday, Lucas would not be drawn into discussing anything related to Ntsima’s arrival in the party. “ For now, my focus is on running my foundation, which helps people with disabilities in various ways as well as my role as a councillor,” he said.
Lucas has often been seen as a political lightweight by some within the BDP. Ahead of the 2019 general elections, there were even strong suggestions that he did not receive sufficient support from the party leadership at the general elections.
Yesterday, the ruling party Francistown South chairperson Uyapo Marobela said the party has not tabled any proposal to Ntsima. He said that all BDP members enjoyed equal rights and privileges.
“Ntsima has also not submitted a formal application to join the party,” Marobela added.