“Ga re ise re mmone yo o tshwanang nae (We haven’t seen anyone like him),” the BPF members referred to Khama as they sang here on Saturday following a star rally. The BPF has left the opposition coalition seeking a PACT model and some of its candidates have opted to contest under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) banner, so the party needs the Khama magic more than ever as they head towards their second General Election in October.
Speaking of magic, the BPF this time around won’t get the same kind of magic like the one they had in the 2019 General Election when the then few months old party managed to win three Parliamentary seats. This is so because their main man Khama has been in a self-imposed exile since 2021 and is not able to return because he says that he fears for his life. The former statesman is currently facing criminal charges and he will be arrested the moment he steps back into the country. In almost every BPF political event or rally Khama is featured because he is an influential figure in the party and is also respected as Bangwato tribe chief. Khama once blasted former BPF president Biggie Butale for failing to feature him virtually during political rallies. By featuring Khama virtually during rallies, the BPF are convinced that a wave of Khama’s secret wand will soothe Batswana and restore the country to the Khama rule. As they bring the phone speaker closer to the microphone during rallies the BPF believes that even without being physically present, Khama with his matchless powers of influence can sway elections the way he did back in 2019 when he rallied voters to slay the BDP. Back then he was able to knock out many BDP giants and promoted some opposition candidates especially in the central.
The BPF wants Khama to remain the standard-bearer of the party and return to melodies of his successful 2019 campaign which shook the BDP. Even Khama himself is looking to regain the 2019 magic but virtually. Khama was once again on his element in Serowe and Palapye as he hit hard on the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and its leader Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama’s strategy is mostly to discredit Masisi and in doing so the BDP. He slammed all their new programmes like Chema Chema and mocked the government’s importation of elite livestock breeds. He took every chance to show how he wants people to help correct the mistake he made when he chose Masisi to be his successor in 2018. Khama acknowledged that the Masisi knows that his magic can break the BDP sorcerer’s spell cast far beyond the central where the BPF is currently dominant. He says the fact that the BDP invaded their territory over the weekend shows that the BPF is a force to reckon with. Khama said even though the BPF doesn’t have a candidate there, people should not vote for the BDP.
The BPF also believes that all the clashes over the use of the Serowe main Kgotla that the Bagammagwato reels in could be gone, but only if Ian Khama is back in the country and Masisi is not president. In the BPF Khama also boasts of being a political demigod, and the narrative that he is suppressed by the BDP regime has given him some sort of sympathy especially from his subjects. Khama himself has often hinted that he will return before the October polls. So the BPF knows that the moment he stands before their members at a political function the real magic can occur. Whether he will come ‘like a thief in the night’ on the eve of the general election it will be the mystery of it all. The BPF looks like they will support anyone aligned with their establishment. The BPF also knows that Khama happens to have a knack for media and his name in a headline pulls in more traffic than the average news headline. For now the BPF will want to keep Khama closer and perhaps in one of these rallies project his virtual address to a big screen because as Batswana say, mafoko a matlhong (a conversation is best in person).
