Khama's new party christened 'BPF'
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday May 24, 2019 14:51
Khama will be holding his follow-up meeting in Serowe over the weekend next to the stadium where he will announce BPF as his new political home and dump the Botswana Democratic Party, (BDP)the party his father found. The meeting is expected to attract more people from Serowe and neighbouring villages.
This week, some tentative names of Khama’s new party were leaked on social media, but only yesterday the Registrar of Societies notified the new party that its name had been chosen out of the possible 10 it considered. It is also an open secret BPF will be cooperating with the opposition, especially the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
According Machacha, the move by Khama will only cause factions within the BDP and affect it minimally.
“What I see is that other people who support him may not defect with him, but will fight within the party. That alone will affect the BDP. Again some members may start to work hard to ensure that their party wins. It should be remembered that the current President has power more than the former. Right now Khama is treated like an ordinary Motswana and he does not have that influence like before, “ Machacha said.
The political analyst said what is happening in the BDP at Central District, especially in Serowe village, is the same as what happened to the Botswana National Front (BNF) some years back in Kanye village, since BDP might lose one or two constituencies to the new BPF. “Of course some people in Serowe might sympathise with him and people who might be affected most are councillors.
Village politics are different from town ones,” he said. He said the factionalism within the BDP would give mileage to the UDC cause.
However, Machacha is adamant that BDP would continue to win elections and the current President Mokgweetsi Masisi would continue to run the country. Machacha said he agrees with some of the residents at Serowe who believe that Khama should quit politics because his move might divide the village or residents.
He said he did not see the importance of Khama having to build a new party because constitutionally, he cannot become a president of the country again.
Mmegi has established that Khama’s move has brought confusion amongst the Serowe residents because for over 50 years, most only associated themselves with the BDP and believe that it is Sir Seretse Khama’s party.
Over the weekend, when the Mmegi team visited the area it found out that some support the move while others believe that their chief must quit politics.
“This issue of Khama forming a new party is not sitting well with us as the tribe because other people would soon think that Khama likes power.
Again, tradition must be followed. He is the one who chose Masisi. Now people are starting to insult the tribe and blame it for our chief’s decision when they were not involving us when things started. It will not be easy for other people to change from BDP,” Keabona Moremi said.
Goitseone Garebatho said, “This issue is tricky and some elders in this village support his decision because they believe the chief was not treated well. The thing is, the BDP elders did not come to the village to explain some of the issues. That is why we do believe what Khama is saying”.
One of the organisers for the event, Prince Moitoi said the preparation is going well and it will be attended in large numbers.
“We have followed all the procedures that we did when holding the first meeting.
The meeting is going to be there and we got the go-ahead even from the police after writing them a letter.
Lots will be said in that meeting and (we) would not rule out any possibilities of a new party. The former president will tell the people about his decision after his consultation meetings,” Moitoi said.