Warring BMD Factions Hold Own Congresses
Onalenna Kelebeile | Wednesday July 19, 2017 18:00
Both factions brought parallel delegates and held separate elective congresses at Matshekge and Bobonong secondary schools respectively.
The two factions have been battling for the soul of the party for over two years. At the congress, both factions even threatened to go to court in order to gain control of the party.
In key positions, the Ndaba/Mmolotsi faction elected Gaolathe as the president and Mmolotsi his deputy. Pius Mokgware was elected as chairperson while Phenyo Butale was elected the secretary general (SG).
From the Modubule/Mangole’s faction, Sidney Pilane was voted the president and Dr Tlamelo Mmatli was chosen his deputy. Modubule was chosen as chairperson while Mangole was elected the secretary general. In fact Ndaba’s team has warned that the UDC will totally collapse should Modubule’s lobby group be accepted into the opposition coalition.
“Modubule’s faction wants to stop regime change by the UDC in 2019. People who are serving their own interests dominate the faction. If they are tolerated in the UDC, they will cause trouble,” Butale said in an interview. He continued, “If they did not have sinister motives they could not have proceeded with the (Matshekge) congress when they knew that we had scheduled a second meeting to go and resolve our differences at the police.”
The congress held by Modubule’s faction started when the two factions had just commenced the second meeting in a bid to resolve their differences. They reached a deadlock, which resulted in both parties holding separate congresses. Citing various aspects of the constitution, the two factions claimed that they have brought legitimate delegates to their congresses. Butale said that they would do their best to gain access to the party secretariat in order to run party activities.
“ We may even go to court so that we can be allowed to gain access to the party secretariat. We deserve everything to be given control of the party secretariat,” Butale said. He added that their faction did not hold other congress activities apart from the elections because they have not had a fully functional National Executive Committee (NEC).
On the other hand, Mangole said their faction will write to the UDC leaders notifying them that Pilane is now their preferred choice for the position of vice president in the coalition party. “The position of vice president belongs to the BMD as a party, not an individual. We no longer recognise Ndaba and his team. They should go and form their own party.
They have ceased to be BMD members, but they remain members of the UDC MPs because the UDC is the party that is recognised in parliament,” said Mangole. Mangole also said that his faction will seek the intervention of the court should Ndaba and his faction engage in an activity using the BMD brand.