Muzila in coup scare

Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday February 27, 2018 10:00

 

Intra Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) battles and factional fissures played out in the open when a section of BDP councillors wanted to dethrone Muzila from her position.

Forces had already connived against Muzila after a BDP Francistown regional caucus on Sunday caucused to topple Muzila from her seat.

At the gathering, eight people voted in favour of the motion to remove Muzila from her position, five voted against the motion while two abstained.

Crestfallen and with her fate already decided by the party caucus, Muzila pulled a Machiavellian tactic to thwart efforts to wrestle the mayoral chain from her.

Just as anybody thought that the five-day full council meeting would proceed as normal after it was duly legally convened, Muzila abruptly adjourned the council session without giving reasons for her decision to do so.

“This council is adjourned for 14 days because we are still mourning the death of our colleague councillor Lechedzani Modenga who passed on Sunday morning in Gaborone,” she said before she bolted out of the council chambers to her office at Usain Bolt like speed.

Councillors waited in vain for many hours hoping that the council will be reconvened later. Close to lunchtime, there was nothing to suggest that the council will proceed as scheduled.

Later a message came to the effect that there will be a meeting for all BDP councillors at the party’s office at 2pm. The meeting was later called off.

This morning BDP deputy secretary general Shaw Kgathi has been locked up in a meeting at the party’s Francistown office with warring Francistown councillors in a bid to reconcile them.

Some BDP councillors, with the backing of the opposition, reportedly want Muzila out because they do not favour her leadership style.

On the other hand some of their party colleagues maintain the contrary. They believe that those who do not want Muzila are influenced by nothing but political gamesmanship.  

The differences surrounding Muzila’s reign have reportedly caused severe divisions among BDP councillors, which is why some civic leaders sought the intervention of supreme party leadership. 

Last year Kgathi also attempted to prevent the BDP councillors from going on with their efforts to oust Muzila through a series of cellphone text messages.

The BDP councillors defied him and proceeded to table a motion of no confidence against Muzila. However, the motion did not succeed because of some technicalities.