Barata-Phathi things fall apart

RYDER GABATHUSE and
TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Staff Writers | Friday April 9, 2010 00:00

 

The president is getting the edge in this war of wits as his A-Team faction seems to have fashioned a perfect admixture of peace overtures, threats and outright punishment that has the party-in-formation frozen in its tracks.

Last week, legislator Edward Raletobana initiated a peace move between the two warring factions in the ruling party after what was reported as a friendly and consensual engagement with Khama.  The MP indicated that he was 'merely helping former president, Ketumile Masire' in his peace initiative.

But Mmegi is reliably informed that Masire was not aware of the adventure. As far as Masire is concerned, he is awaiting the reply of the central committee to his peace making initiative.  Sources in the central committee say the party rejected the peace initiative.

Raletobana, who prides himself in his special relationship with Khama, agreed that the foundation for any peace move should be a letter to be signed by willing members of Barata- Phathi denouncing the Mogoditshane meeting and declaring that a new start to talks should be established.  Last weekend, Maun MP Moremi Tawana joined Raletobana and appended his signature to the document. Unbeknownst to Raletobana and Tawana the BDP secretariat was drafting letters firing advocate, Sidney Pilane, and businessman, Kabo Morwaeng, from the party.  At the beginning of the week, the Raletobana story was public knowledge.  Reports indicate that Raletobana wanted to bring in other members of his faction to join the peace crusade.

On Tuesday a worried Barata-Phathi hurried to a meeting to ask Raletobana about his reported initiative.  Sources say although they were worried the development, members of the Barata-Phathi did not readily condemn Raletobana. 

Yesterday, the BDP indicated that it had formally fired Pilane and Morwaeng. BDP executive secretary, Comma Serema, confirmed that the party fired Pilane and Morwaeng for incessantly defying orders. 'They got their letters before lunch today. They denounced the party membership openly including party policies and those of the BDP government,' he said. Serema stated that the decision of the party leadership is informed by provisions of Article 7 of the BDP constitution which states: 'BDP membership is voluntary and open to all Batswana who accept the party's policies and programmes and are not members of other political parties or organisations whose policies and aspirations are incompatible of those of the party'.  Serema said the continuous pronouncements by Pilane and company through the electronic and print media means the group has renounced its membership of the BDP.

Meanwhile, Pilane, who is also the spokesperson for the Barata-Phathi, said yesterday that he had not yet received a letter from the BDP firing him. 'I am yet to receive such a letter. But, you should note that I recently made a public announcement in one of the local newspapers that since I am involved in the project of forming a new party, I no longer consider myself a member of the BDP,' he said. The unfazed Pilane added that since he is no longer a BDP member he would not consider himself fired from the party in anyway. 'If Morwaeng has received a letter firing him from the party, I don't think he could be worried in anyway because he is in the project of forming a new party as well,' he said. Attempts to reach Morwaeng Thursday evening proved futile. Reports reaching Mmegi indicate that some members of the Barata-Phathi who have been defying the party are already gripped by panic following the expulsion of Pilane and Morwaeng.  In a further turn of events yesterday afternoon, Raletobana and Tawana received letters of reprimand.

'No one knows what that means. A letter of reprimand can remain in your file and can be used later whether during vetting or anything. So while he is offering peace on the one hand, on the other he issues these letters just to keep everyone in check,' complains a source.

Sources say the two MPs are surprised. 'They thought they had been forgiven and everything could start on a clean slate,' adds the source.  However, the central committee says as far as they are concerned those who wrote letters like Raletobana were forgiven. Serema says Raletobana, Tawana, the BDP National Youth Executive Committee (NYEC) chairperson, Armstrong Dikgafela and ex-Itekeng Ward councillor, Sam Masunga, have been pardoned following their pleas for mercy.The four wrote to the party leadership and they were pardoned on the strength of the letters, the party says.

'We are simply saying that each member must account for what they did and we want letters from each one of them explaining their case before they can be accepted back into the BDP fold,' Serema says.

Raletobana seems to have fallen victim to the divide-and-rule strategy of the Khama group, compromising the overall strategy of his faction.  The faction has among other things, demanded that Gomolemo Motswaledi's suspension be set aside, and that he be restored to the membership of the central committee and to his office of secretary general of the party. The faction wanted lifting of the suspension of Botsalo Ntuane, Pilane, Morwaeng and Ndaba Gaolathe, and that all charges pending or contemplated against them are abandoned.

Barata-Phathi demanded that the central committee elected at the party congress in Kanye in July 2009 be unconditionally reinstated. The faction, having met at the Big Five Lodge in Mogoditshane, had forwarded about 30 demands to the party leadership.

In response, the BDP leadership issued a statement saying that 'the central committee has resolved that organisers of the new break-away party and the convenors of the so-called Barata-Phathi meeting who took part in the unlawful assembly held last Saturday in Mogoditshane, which includes six sitting MPs, should surrender their membership cards of the BDP within 48 hours to the main party office in Gaborone.' Members of the Barata-Phathi faction defied the order. A peace attempt by former BDP and state president, Sir Ketumile Masire, recently hit a snag as the party leadership snubbed him.

Khama has not moved an inch towards meeting the demands given by Barata-Phathi individual members of the faction who have been slowly moving inches towards accommodating his stance; that each member should approach the party and that there will be no dialogue with a group.