FRANCISTOWN: In a shocking development, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has slapped its president Biggie Butale with a 90-day suspension pending disciplinary hearing.
The suspension was announced through a press release this afternoon. Butale’s suspension is a resolution taken at a party NEC meeting today. The decision to suspend Butale came as a shock to many. It was widely speculated that the NEC meeting will be used to create a path to reconciliation for warring BPF factions.
Two BPF factions, one led by Butale and the other by secretary general Tshekedi Khama have been battling for the soul of the BPF since the 2019 General Election.
“The NEC has made a decision to suspend you from the BPF for 90 days effective immediately. This decision is as allowed under Clause 15.4.2 of the BPF constitution which empowers the NEC to make any decision it deems necessary for the enforcement of the party constitution and its regulations procedures,” the party said in a statement authored by Mephato Reatile who cites himself at the acting president of the BPF.
The statement added: “The action is necessitated by you having acted outside the NEC to set primary election dates for the Serowe West by election and also sanctioning candidates to contest the said primaries. You are reminded that such power lies with not your person but the NEC. This is as per Clauses 2.1 and 6.4 of the BPF primary elections regulations as promulgated by the NEC and passed by congress. Both these clauses are mandatory as they provide that the “NEC shall.”
Amongst others, Butale is accused of recalling some key party resolutions. He is also accused of spurning a request to attend today’s NEC meeting.
“You have also decided, against an NEC resolution, to present Reitumetse Phiri as acting secretary-general of the party and had her issue orders and instructions to party structures, which orders are the preserve of the secretary-general and the NEC.”
Butale has previously been suspended from the BPF on allegations of sexually violating a student representative of the party. His suspension was later lifted. He denied the allegations and labelled them a political witch-hunt. Interestingly, Butale recently recalled Tshekedi from his indefinite suspension, a move that was widely viewed as a step in the right direction, with reference to uniting the party. This is after Butale himself had won a court order reinforcing him as the BPF president after some party operatives had challenged his position as the party president claiming that he had resigned from the BPF on his own volition.
