Philemon, Masame fail in BOPEU election drama
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Friday December 14, 2018 13:00
Former interim president, Philemon and former second deputy president, Masame, were involved in a last ditch drama to force their names into nomination sheets for elections.
This was after they found their way into the nomination hall under the cover of darkness to put up their names.
The Philemon-Masame drama followed swiftly in the aftermath of a last minute legal victory by three NEC members, Olefile Monakwe, Modise Ramaretlwa, and Tshepo Maribela the Friday before the start of the congress, which saw the trio immediately reinstated in the NEC.
Monakwe had immediately put up his name for contention for the first deputy president post alongside the incumbent, Martin Gabobake in a two-horse race.
The High Court victory by the trio seemed to spur their camp mates, Philemon and Masame who could also sniff unlikely luck at the congress and made attempts to go for the jugular.
On Monday morning, the delegates woke up to a nomination sheet posted on the walls of the Travel Lodge Hotel announcing Philemon and Masame amongst the candidates for presidency and second deputy president respectively. Panic and shock rattled the curious delegates as to how the duo, who are not even delegates found their way into the nomination hall.
The duo would repeat their sneaky tactics the following evening, but this time, the BOPEU leadership were on alert and had left no room for surprises as they soon called in the Kasane police to arrest the situation.
According to BOPEU general secretary, Topius Marenga they furnished the police with the required documents that proved that the duo were suspended and had no right to be at the congress venue.
There was further relief for BOPEU delegates when their elections officer announced on the day of elections on Wednesday that the elections committee had vetted out Philemon and Masame after they were alerted to the fact that they were not legible for elections.
To say the Philemon-Masame camp had their own grand strategy to influence the cause of the congress would be an understatement.
Even though they were not physically present at the congress venue on day one of the congress, it would seem that they had managed to remotely take control of the first day proceedings, as day one went to waste with the congress debating inconclusively the proposal by pro-Philemon-Masame camp to have their suspensions lifted immediately.
Interestingly, the pro-Philemon-Masame camp also lobbied for the withdrawal of all court cases against the former president Andrew Motsamai, against whom BOPEU have launched a civil suit to recoup over P40 million that went to waste, all thanks to his unilateral decisions.
Judgement for this civil case is due today at the Lobatse High Court.
By coincidence or by design, Motsamai happened to be in Kasane this week, giving rise to conspiracy theories that he may have been involved in the behind-the-scenes scheming that influenced the course of the congress proceedings.
In fact, how the BOPEU congress went to elections without Philemon and Masame as contestants was all down to BOPEU president Masego Mogwera’s no push over attitude as she resisted the heavy calls to reinstate the suspended members.
When the hot potato issue of the reinstatement of Philemon and company was rekindled just before the elections, Mogwera directed that not too soon, the issue would be taken to the motions committee while voting without the duo continued peacefully as Mogwera kept her nemesis in abeyance and served them the same embarrassment they looked destined to serve her.