Chaos as councillor is whisked away

ISAAC PINIELO and PINI BOTLHOKO
Correspondents | Wednesday March 3, 2010 00:00

His colleagues whisked him out of the main council chamber whereupon attendees were asked to take a few minutes' break.

It was evident that something strange had occurred, to the extent that even the council leadership was in a state of confusion. Some people were seemingly in a state of shock, whilst others could only manage to laugh uncontrollably.The meeting had to be moved from the usual council chambers to the committee room after a 30-minute recess. There were no clear explanations advanced for the sudden change of venue. Initial indications were that 68-year-old Phitshana was not feeling well. When the meeting resumed, Mayor Shadrack Nyeku said: 'We had a problem. Our colleague is not well, that is why we decided to come here to continue with our programme.'

When reached for comment, he said he was still on his way to the councillor's home to find out what had really happened. He explained that the meeting had to be shifted to another venue because the chambers were not in a good state. He did not elaborate.

Commenting on the incident, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor Shah Jack of Monarch West said she did not know the reason for the adjournment of the meeting. She said she suspected that Phitshana had fallen sick because of old age.

'He is the one who is in a better position to explain what happened to him,' she said.