Digwa dethroned Slumber Tsogwane of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) after he secured 7,495 votes while the former vice president garnered 5,260 votes. Thomas Khethenyane of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) finished a distant third with 2,488 votes. In Tsogwane, Digwa did not face a political lightweight but a heavy weight who was also the country’s vice president and was also vying for a sixth term in Parliament. Many had thought that it was going to be a tall order for Digwa to defeat Tsogwane. Tsogwane had an upper hand to reclaim the constituency before the election. He had State resources at his disposal to use to campaign to win the constituency. On the other hand, Digwa, like many opposition politicians, had to dig deep into his pockets to fulfill his long held dream of going to Parliament. This on its own was a daunting task and the fact that Digwa won the parliamentary seat at the third time of asking shows that patience and perseverance pays. The political tsunami that was unleashed by the UDC across the country which handed the coalition 36 parliamentary seats to form a new government alone also dislodged Tsogwane. The former vice president, like his colleagues throughout the country, was clueless about what caused the BDP to perform dismally in the past election. It was clear when the votes were still counted that Digwa would come out tops.
Tsogwane did not wait for the final vote to be counted but instead left when vote counting was still ongoing saying that he was going to attend a central committee (CC) meeting of the BDP in Gaborone the following day. Before Tsogwane left Rakops Junior Secondary School where the vote counting was taking place, he jokingly told Digwa’s handlers to tell him that he should also become the country’s next vice president. Tsogwane, who is a close relative of Digwa, said this is so because the Boteti West constituency was meant for vice presidents. The agenda of the CC of the BDP meeting was clear for anyone to guess-to digest why the party lost the election. To be fair to Tsogwane, he said that he did not know what had caused the BDP to perform dismally in the 2024 General Election. Digwa, a teacher by profession, was humble in his victory.He asked the people of Boteti West to always guide him when he is carrying out the onerous task of representing them in Parliament. “I don’t possess the mental capacity to know all your needs and aspirations. So, I shall always ask for guidance from you whenever I am articulating your needs and aspirations in Parliament,” said Digwa.
“A single brain cannot be wiser than thousands of brains. In this regard, I ask you to help me to bring developments to this constituency. This constituency has been neglected for a very long time.” Digwa then claimed that he could have long been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Boteti West since 2014 but the vote was compromised. “I have won the Boteti West constituency in 2014 and 2019, but the votes were rigged from me,” said Digwa. However, following his loss to Tsogwane after the 2019 General Election, Digwa petitioned the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), BDP and Tsogwane alleging that the election was rigged. Justices Tshegofatso Mogomotsi, Phadi Solomon dismissed his application. While both Mogomotsi and Solomon were unanimous in the ruling, there was however a dissenting judgment from Justice Bashi Moesi. In the 2014 polls, Tsogwane won the Boteti West constituency with 5,790 votes followed by Digwa with 5,549 votes. A slight margin of 241 votes separated the winner and the second placed contestant. In the 2019 General Election, Tsogwane reclaimed the constituency with 7,006 votes while Digwa was voted by 6,713 people. The margin between the winner and second placed person was 293 votes.
The difference between Tsogwane and Digwa in the 2014 and 2019 electoral cycles shows that there was a high probability that Digwa may dethrone Tsogwane in future. And it happened in the 2024 General election. An elated Digwa then said that he was ready to lead the people of Boteti West to prosperity provided they also help to achieve that dream.
