BDP suspends Moswaane�s supporters
Chakalisa Dube | Friday April 7, 2017 17:45
The trio has formed an integral part of Moswaane’s campaign team in recent years. Moses has since confirmed his suspension.
BDP secretary general Botsalo Ntuane confirmed the suspensions yesterday, but would not go into detail.
Mmegi has it on good authority that the letters suspending the trio were delivered to the Francistown region secretariat late on Wednesday.
President Ian Khama authored the letters according to highly placed sources within the party. “The three men are still in Gaborone and they have been called to come and collect their letters,” an insider within the BDP said yesterday.
The three were suspended for allegedly assaulting one of the party activists, Otto Masogo at the Francistown elective congress last month. Masogo has also laid criminal charges against them.
The suspension was a result of findings of a task team that was recently appointed by President Ian Khama to investigate irregularities and fist fights that surrounded the Francistown congress.
The task team chaired by former Cabinet minister Gaotlhaetse ‘GUS’ Matlhabaphiri, has also reportedly decided not to dissolve the recently elected Francistown region leadership for the sake of promoting peace within the party.
“We will only share details of the findings of the task team once they have been submitted to the President and his central committee. The report will be handed next week,” BDP executive secretary, Merapelo Moloise said yesterday when quizzed if indeed Khama has decided against dissolving the regional leadership.
The just elected regional committee is made up of supporters of Cabinet minister, Nonofo Molefhi. The losing side belongs to Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi who is contesting for the position of BDP chairman against Molefhi.
Both are fighting to gain control of regions in a bid to enhance their bid to win the soul of the BDP. Regional leaders vote at the BDP congress.
Meanwhile, Khama will today (Friday) afternoon visit the volatile Francistown region where he is expected to broker peace among warring party members.
The meeting will be held in Tonota at Baraka Lodge. This will be the second time in less than a year that Khama has visited the region in a bid to stop factionalism. Khama was in the region in August last year where members complained about infighting, but his appeal for peace failed to bear any fruit.
During Khama’s maiden visit, members even attributed the party’s loss of the Phillip Matante East by-election to factionalism.
The regional structures were also reportedly on the brink of collapse as a result of infighting. Some members of the BDP central committee, among them, Ntuane will accompany Khama tomorrow.
Prominent BDP members in the Francistown region recently warned that the party risked losing the region to the opposition if factions do not come to an end.
Although in the officialdom Khama’s visit will be nothing more than just a routine visit, insiders at Tsholetsa House are singing a different tune.
Mmegi is informed that Khama’s main agenda would be to preach peace and unity in the region. After Khama’s visit last year, tension between party members in the region worsened. There have been instances where members allegedly de-campaigned each other as they positioned themselves for the party primaries to attain candidacy for the 2019 general elections.
The BDP Francistown region chairman Baemedi Medupi yesterday maintained that Khama’s main agenda would not be to quell infighting in the region.
“This will be a routine visit by the President. He will be in the region to check how the region is performing and its level of readiness for the 2019 general elections,” Medupi said.
He added: “The President visits party regions every quarter of the year regardless of the dynamics at that moment, hence I cannot say that he will be here to quell infighting”.
Pundits however, have even opined that the recent fistfights and alleged irregularities at the elective regional congress highlighted deep divisions in the party within Francistown.