The deceased politician, reportedly received a letter from President Ian Khama relieving him of his cabinet post when he was on his sick bed.
Motswaledi said at the launch of the joint opposition candidate, Dr Habaudi Hobona of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) that removing the BDP from power should be done without delay because when military leaders are under pressure, they become very dangerous. Sarcastically calling Khama 'the president of delivery', the BMD leader said that while the people of Tonota languish in poverty and destitution: "Khama has delivered a fridge worth P45,000, furniture worth P300,000, a mirror worth P16,000 and tenders to his friends and relatives". He regretted that Khama has systematically removed women from the cabinet, citing the examples of Professor Sheila Tlou and Moggie Mbaakanyi. He pointed out that, the Attorney General, Athalia Molokomme might be replaced by Parks Tafa soon. The secretary general of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Akanyang Magama said that his party hopes the Tonota North by-election is the beginning of a more viable cooperation among the opposition parties. Pointing out that the similarities between the opposition parties in Botswana are more than the differences between them, he said that Botswana must be delivered from the Khama presidency as a matter of urgency. Magama appealed to the people to vote Hobona. He said that as an opposition MP, she will be free to represent her constituency in Parliament unlike the BDP candidate who will be constrained by the caucus system where the party decides what the MPs can say. Dumelang Saleshando, the BCP president lamented the fact that the standard of living in Tonota is not consistent with Botswana's middle-income status. Appealing to those in the BDP to leave the party, he asked rhetorically: "If the eight BDP MPs have given up on the party, why are you still clinging to it?". Saleshando praised Hobona for joining the opposition upon her retirement from government service, something that he said is not common among retiring senior civil servants. The BCP president said that the by-election is like a referendum on what the people of Tonota North say about the level of development in their area and the state of democracy in Botswana in general. Saleshando said that opposition parties have got more viable programmes than the BDP's Ipelegeng and constituency league. Hobona said that there is a very high incidence of TB in Botswana with Tonota North being one of the hardest hit. She promised to press for the provision of health facilities in Tonota North if voted to Parliament.
