Two months after the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) conference in Mahalapye expelled five of its legislators, Member of Parliament (MP) for Okavango Kenny Kapinga has applied for readmission into the party, fortunately without the grovelling.
Kapinga was expelled alongside Leader of Opposition (LoO) Dithapelo Keorapetse, MP for Palapye Onneetse Ramogapi, MP for Nkange Never Tshabang, and MP for Mahalapye West David Tshere.
In a press statement issued today, BCP spokesperson Mpho Pheko revealed that the party is elated to announce that the party has received Kapinga’s application for readmission to the party through the party’s Okavango Constituency.
“The central committee of the BCP met on September 5, 2022, to consider Kapinga’s application and resolved that consistent with the spirit of the position communicated at the Mahalapye conference in July 2022 to welcome back any of the five MPs that the conference expelled should they decide to re-join the party.
Kapinga’s application is welcomed without reservation.
The party leadership should engage the Northwest Regional Committee and the Okavango Constituency Committee to iron out any routine process issues to ensure administratively compliant decision-making,” reads the press statement in part.
Pheko said the central committee (CC) is grateful to Kapinga for the mature manner in which he has acquitted himself in reconciling with the party. She added that the CC looks forward to announcing the final decision in the shortest possible time.
Kapinga was not present when four of the expelled quintet addressed a press conference shortly after their expulsion in July. At the time the expelled MPs believed that reconciliation could still work with their former party provided the BCP still wants to be part of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). Meanwhile, the BCP has since carved its own path when it started talks with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) on a possible new coalition.
BCP has revealed that the UDC's attitude has forced the party to pursue other interested political parties and all stakeholders in Botswana to come together and build a viable coalition towards the 2024 General Election.
The BCP is a member of the UDC alongside the Botswana National Front, the Botswana People's Party and the Botswana Patriotic Front, which the latter was recently welcomed.
The BCP’s Mahalapye conference has given the UDC six months to rethink its position on pertinent issues in the coalition like governance among others.
