According to reports, Tlhakanelo had previously shown interest to contest for Botsalano ward in Francistown West constituency under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which is a coalition of three parties namely the AP, Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana People’s Party (BPP). He was sentenced for defiling the minor who was his neighbour in Kgaphamadi location in 2018.
In an interview with AP Francistown regional chairperson Thapelo Mosenya said the party was aware of Tlhakanelo’s matter before court.
He said they advised Tlhakanelo to step aside and not run for council office after learning that he was facing defilement charges.
Mosenya stated that even though Tlhakanelo took a while to come to terms with the fact that he could not run for office, he eventually gave in.
Mosenya also said Tlhakanelo was sentenced to prison within a month of accepting his fate.
He reasoned that Tlhakanelo was not an ideal candidate for the Botsalano ward because the AP is against people who sexually abuse others, especially women and children.
He added that the AP does not condone such conduct because it damages the reputation of the party. “As a party, we oppose and do not support gender-based violence (GBV) against women and children in any way,” he added.
Mosenya elaborated that a person who is accused of any serious offence such as sexual offences should not stand for public office.
This is not the first time that an AP activist and council candidate has been prosecuted and sentenced for a sexual offence against a minor.
In 2021 another AP council candidate, Tuajoruavi Maekopo, was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Maun Magistrate’s Court for raping his 12-year-old cousin.
Maekopo, who represented the AP in the 2019 General Election at the Gumare-Tubu ward in the Ngami constituency, faced a single count of rape which happened on February 26, 2016.
In mitigation, defence attorney Lesego Phoi of Phoi and Associates pleaded with the court to be lenient when sentencing Maekopo.
Phoi said Maekopo previously lived a clean life and was the president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) for Maun Senior Secondary School. He later became a candidate in the last general elections under the AP. The latest conviction of Tlhakanelo and sentence show that political parties in Botswana, not necessarily the AP, don’t carry out background checks on their candidates before they express interest to stand for public office.
In 2019, Margaret Nasha, the advisor of the president of the AP, Ndaba Gaolathe, said this before Maekopo was sentenced:
“As the AP, violence against women and children is something we do not condone. We are aware of the case.” She added: “We did discuss the allegations at an executive level recently. There are those who believe that he (Maekopo) should step down and clear his name. Others are of the view that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is a tricky situation. We have sent people to engage him in relation to the allegations. The feedback that they will give us will certainly determine what action we will take as the AP.”
Then, Nasha added that there are those who were of the view that recalling the candidate two months before the elections can work against the party.
