mmegi

‘Boko has no powers to suspend delegates’

Saleshando PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Saleshando PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Maun West and suspended Leader of Opposition (LOO), Dumelamg Saleshando says the president of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Duma Boko has no powers to suspend him and his fellow MP for Maun East, Goretetse Kekgonegile.

Saleshando, the president of Botswana Congress Party and Kekgonegile, BCP secretary-general (SG) and member of UDC national executive committee who are challenging their suspension from the umbrella say there is nowhere in the constitution of the UDC that gives Boko any powers to suspend them as they are not members of the umbrella but just delegates.

The duo have filed a case before court seeking among others for their suspension from the UDC to be declared unlawful, wrongful, unreasonable, improper and invalid in so far as they are not members.

According to Saleshando’s founding affidavit, the meeting of June 25, 2022 at a UDC national executive committee (NEC) held in Palapye, Boko and some members of the NEC purported to suspend them from the umbrella for a period of three months pending disciplinary proceedings despite clearly having no powers to do so. “I respectfully submit that the respondents acted illegally and unlawfully in suspending us, in so far as the UDC constitution does not empower Boko to suspend delegates as defined in the constitution.

Their reach is only limited to UDC members,” he said.

Putting things into context, the former LOO explained that the UDC has four types of members in terms of its constitution and those are any citizen of Botswana of 16 years and above as individual membership, any political party or society based on operating in Botswana, registered or exempted from registration under the Societies Act of Laws of Botswana as group membership.

Further any trade union or employers’ organisation registered in terms of the Trade Union and Employers’ Organisation Act as Labour membership and finally any non-governmental organisation or organised body of Civil Society registered, based or opening in Botswana as civil society membership.

He said based on the four types of members of UDC, him and his SG are card carrying members of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and in good standing and that the BCP was a political party based and operating in the country. “The BCP became a member of the UDC on about August, 2017 having been admitted as a ‘group member’ of the UDC in terms of the latter’s constitution. The BCP is therefore, a group member of the UDC as defined under the UDC constitution. I am not and have never been a member of the UDC nor applied for individual membership thereof,” he pointed out.

He emphasised that he was a delegate of BCP at the UDC in essence and represent the BCP at the UDC therefore, his association with the umbrella is through and by virtue of membership of the BCP to the UDC.

Saleshando also said in terms of the UDC constitution a ‘group member’ of the UDC was autonomous although required to abide by the UDC constitution and that a member of ‘group member’ in case of him and his FELLOW SUSPENDED were not subject to discipline of the UDC. “That power is reserved for the ‘group member’ in this case the BCP.

The UDC has disciplinary powers only as against parties with which it has contracted not members of group members themselves. To the extent that neither I nor my fellow comrade have applied for ‘individual membership’ of the UDC, we are not per se members of the UDC, except by association with the BCP, which is a ‘group member’ of the UDC,” pointed Saleshando.

He argued that the UDC has no disciplinary powers over them and that it cannot exercise powers it does not have therefore, Boko and NEC acted illegally and that their decision should be declared a nullity in law.

The MP noted that also in terms of law, the UDC constitution constituted a contract intra the individual members and between the members and the organisation as such him and Kekgonegile are not individual members of the UDC and therefore, do not have privity of contract. “Over and above, even assuming which is denied the respondents acted unprocedurally and unfairly to exercise such powers without affording the parties adversely affected by it an opportunity to make representations and to be heard prior to the prejudicial decision being taken against them,” he argued. In conclusion, the MP opened up about the happenings in the UDC, explaining that in days prior to their suspension there had been traces of uneasy feelings of animosity between the UDC partners and that him and SG in their representative capacity of the BCP and Boko as the president of the UDC were not sufficiently aligned on certain values and principles.

He said the BCP felt very strongly that the UDC’s current position on the constitution, internal democracy and governance was unacceptable and had been openly vocal in that regard so their suspension was as a consequence, part of a larger stratagem by Boko to crack down on differing views effectively silencing the BCP within the UDC, and amounts to an overreach in so far as it was intended to force BCP’s hand as to whom must be its representatives within the UDC.

“This is not acceptable in a democratic setup. Boko acted unreasonably, improperly in suspending us from solely on account of differing views and opinions, which were expressed in our capacities as representatives of the UDC,” he said.

He expressed that as such it could not be maintained that the resolutions and decisions of any organ or member of the UDC was not subject to review, as that would amount to declaring the pointlessness of the UDC constitution.

Editor's Comment
A step in the right direction

It has only been a month since the newly elected government, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), took power, and there are already a lot of changes. Across different ministries, ministers are hard at work. Following heavy rainfall and storms that hit Francistown recently, the Minister of State Presidency, Moeti Mohwasa, made a commitment that government will assist those affected by the heavy rains. Mohwasa, when addressing the media in...

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