Goya, a popular legislator during his heydays in Palapye seemingly became a victim of circumstances especially after the birth of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) breakaway party, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) just prior to the 2019 general election. At the time, the political mood and allegiance shifted in Palapye and almost the entire Central District with the new kid on the political bloc igniting regional interest.
Just under the noses of Goya and his party (BDP) diehards the BPF ushered in new changes that blew away the traditional and conservative nature of the BDP dominance in the area since independence in 1966. Unfortunately, he (Goya) couldn’t discern an internal plot within the party (BDP) by some operatives who were loyal to the new party’s patron former president Ian Khama and hell-bent on running away with the requisite political numbers. When the votes were counted in 2019, Goya had lost to Onneetse Ramogapi by 330 votes margin. Ramogapi had garnered 5582 votes whilst Goya lost the fight via 5252 votes. Two factors accounted for Goya’s loss. First, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Ramogapi’s party was contracted to a tri-party Umbrella for Democratic Change UDC) which has the Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Peoples Party (BPP)as members and their efforts paid dividends after over 50 years of trying hard to wrestle the seat. Secondly, the diehard BDP members had vowed not to vote for the BDP due to internal squabbles traceable to the top party leadership. The two factors above connived to oust Goya, as he still wanted another term in Parliament under the BDP ticket. Goya’s return to local politics after months of speculative absence brings home a man who has learnt a political lesson after his loyalty to the BDP could not reward him. It seems his downfall in the last general election was enough for him to receive a cold shoulder from the BDP, the party he served with utmost loyalty.
