Mmegi

Reatile falls on his own sword

Mephato Reatile. PIC KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Mephato Reatile. PIC KENNEDY RAMOKONE

The president of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), and former Member of Parliament for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Mephato Reatile, who lost elections this week, will rue the moment he made the announcement that his party was pulling out of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

When the BPF pulled out of the coalition, Reatile said, “Our members in different constituencies showed (sic) that UDC affiliates are not respecting the signed agreement of percentage sharing when one is given the constituency they are managing.” He further said, “The agreement is that those given the area shall contest 60% of the wards while others share 40%, but now some parties fail to honour that.” This was a veil reference to the Botswana National Front which is an integral part of the UDC.

The decision to withdraw from the UDC, when elections were less than six months away, was unpopular with a section of the party who challenged the decision in court. The aggrieved members lost the case on a technicality. The judge dismissed the matter on the grounds that “The Applicants have failed dismally to satisfy the requirements of Order 12 (12) of the Rules of the Court on urgency”. It turns out Reatile’s insistence to withdraw from the coalition was his own undoing. He has lost to a UDC member who took his place as the coalition candidate for the Jwaneng/Mabutsane constituency.

Not only that, Reatile, was the most senior party member of the UDC after Duma Boko and was a strong contender to fill the position of Vice President left by Dumelang Saleshando when the Botswana Congress Party pulled out of the UDC. The UDC, assisted by the presence of the BPF, won a string of bye-elections since the 2019 general elections, and they were expected to perform well together in the 2024 elections. That was not to be because Reatile and his National Executive Committee decided to leave the coalition.

Had BPF remained in the coalition, Reatile would have possibly been Boko’s running mate, and most likely won the Jwaneng/Mabutsane constituency. Ndaba Gaolathe, who is the current Vice President of the UDC, played his cards well because as soon as the BPF withdrawal matter was finalised in court, he brought in his Alliance for Progressives (AP) into the UDC fold. Perfect timing! Meanwhile, by his very action to withdraw the BPF from the UDC,

Reatile made his bed, and he is now sleeping in it, even as he falls on his own sword.

Editor's Comment
UDC's 100 Days: Please deliver your promises!

We duly congratulate them to have ousted the long ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. Prior to taking power from the BDP, the coalition had made several election promises that are credited for influencing change and swaying the people to vote in its favour.The party had made an undertaking, which its leader and President Duma Boko consistently bellowed in his campaign trail. These undertakings were promises that Batswana would be...

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