BDP’s bumpy road

It was such an eventful year for the party, which went to congress where Vice President Slumber Tsogwane was challenged for the party chairpersonship. Molefhi challenges Tsogwane

The fact that former Cabinet Minister Nonofo Molefhi challenged Vice President Slumber Tsogwane for the chairperson made headlines and became a topical issue. That alone threatened Tsogwane’s control of the party. It was not the first time Molefhi had challenged a sitting Vice President for the position. He did that in 2017 and lost to the then VP Mokgweetsi Masisi. Back then, Molefhi was facing an uphill battle against Masisi’s affluent ‘Team Dubai’ which swept the stakes scoring highly in all the contested positions including additional members, leaving the rival lobby group of Molefhi literally empty-handed. At this year’s congress held in Tsabong, Molefhi’s team felt that they were intimidated and denied a chance to campaign or solicit support from members while Tsogwane’s team campaigned freely. After the Tsabong congress, the Molefhi team held a press conference, something that had never happened before and is not in the party’s culture. It was a whitewash victory for Tsogwane and his team.