Though he spoke years ago about a different organisation, he might as well have been referring to the Tower of Babel that operates under a political facade called the Umbrella - an increasingly rickety vehicle cobbled by the three main opposition parties and their sidekick, the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP). For sure, the behaviour of the Botswana opposition parties when it comes to unity can be very disappointing. The parties contradict themselves, attack one another and sabotage the project nearly at every turn. They have been doing it each time they attempt to unite or cooperate for general elections.
For parties that are busy strategising and caucasing how to participate in the next general election as a united front, it is strange how important constituencies are busy firing broadsides at each other. For parties who think that the surest way to attain power is to face the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) as a united front at the ballot box, it is shocking how some key figures in the opposition have been brazen in dismissing attempts at unity. Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) policy chief, Ndaba Gaolathe and Botswana National Front (BNF) youth boss, Kagiso Ntime have publicly besmirched the Umbrella, causing turmoil in opposition ranks. Political temperatures rose several notches when the BMD, the BPP, the BNF and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) found themselves with a very hot potato when they tried to parcel out constituencies among themselves. The obstacle is yet to be overcome but has the capability to kill the unity project given what has been going on in the public domain.
