Defection has made us stronger _ Khama

| Wednesday July 14, 2010 00:00

 

He was speaking at a sparsely attended BDP star rally that was held in Tsamaya village over the weekend. According to Khama, the defected members were like 'poison' in the party and had to be removed before they could spoil the party.

'We are even stronger without them. They were like poison in a person's body so we won't let that poison get back into our lives,' said Khama. He said the BDP has spent many years without discipline being instilled in the party, which made people forget to abide by the party rules. Referring to the MP for Francistown South, Wynter Mmolotsi, Khama said he was given a chance on several occasions to get his act together, which he did not. He explained that instilling discipline in the party is not influenced by the fact that he was a soldier but rather that he is a leader who wants to see things being done correctly. 'Some people say I want to rule the country like the army but I want to tell them that everywhere you go there are rules that govern people. Even at home or at work there are rules that one has to abide by,' he stressed.

He went on to describe the splinter Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) as a bunch of excited souls whose excitement will not lead them anywhere. 'It's just excitement for them and their newspapers that are misleading people to believe they are gaining momentum, whereas it is not the case,' he said.

According to Khama, the people who have left the BDP do not uphold to the Setswana principle of Botho, noting that they are just a few of such people in the country. He said people of their caliber could do anything to attain power. He gave an example of countries like Zimbabwe saying people there are suffering because a power-hungry leader is leading them.

Earlier on before Khama's address, Vice- President Mompati Merafhe said the pledging of loyalty to the BDP by some councillors is testimony that the BDP is still alive and strong in the Tati East constituency, contrary to media reports that there were some MPs and councillors who were intending to leave the party. 'There are some people who have the pronsperity to tell lies. Come out and tell the truth. If helping a person is regarded as sycophancy then we should all be sycophants, ' said Merafhe.