Mmegi

Expel the expeller, BPF’s entrenched pattern

Reatile recently expelled Mathoothe (left) and Ookeditse (right) after the latter continued with the elective congress 
PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Reatile recently expelled Mathoothe (left) and Ookeditse (right) after the latter continued with the elective congress PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE

What began as a power struggle between party factions has evolved into a bizarre pattern of retaliation, a revolving door of suspensions, expulsions, and counter-expulsions that has reduced the Botswana Patriotic Front’s (BPF) internal politics to a soap opera, writes Mmegi staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE

The BPF has developed a peculiar political culture where those who expel others today often find themselves expelled tomorrow. The latest episode aired this past weekend when the man who won a disputed election, Lawrence Ookeditse’s faction, revoked the membership of Mephato Reatile, the very man who, only hours earlier, had expelled him and his allies from the same party.

This “expel-the-expeller” dynamic has become the defining feature of the BPF’s tumultuous internal life, with almost every leadership dispute ending in a round of expulsions followed by a court battle.

Editor's Comment
Kudos to Botswana Police Service, other security entities

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing.”– Theodore RooseveltThrough the two-day event, over 700 athletes from 40 countries, and multitudes of spectators gathered in Gaborone to witness a world-class sporting spectacle.Beyond the medals and performances on the track, Botswana won something equally important: international respect. One of the key pillars behind the success was the sterling work done by the...

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