The bitterness started in early 1992 when Merafhe challenged Kwelagobe for the post of Chairman of the BDP and lost. When the land issue arose during that same year, the perception of Kwelagobe and his supporters was that the other faction wanted to take advantage of the dispute and discredit Kwelagobe. There was a grain of truth to the allegations of bias against Kwelagobe; some party members saw it as a chance to oust him from the position of Chairman, because they could not win an election against him.
The Mogoditshane land fiasco
As Minister of Finance and Development Planning it was my responsibility to explain government policy about the Mogoditshane land issue to the people of the community, and the nation at large. At one of the presentations to the community I was quoted as saying that the government does not buy votes. My words were "ga ke reke dithopo ka lefatshe le eseng lame le madi a e seng ame." I said that I do not buy votes with land that is not mine and money that is not mine. It is government money and land must be allocated according to the law.
