Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has sensed sinister motives after they were forced to change the venue at the eleventh hour for their much-anticipated manifesto launch.
The coalition had mapped out that their manifesto launch would be hosted at the University of Botswana (UB) Amphitheatre tomorrow but have now moved the launch to Royal Aria Stadium. “We had booked at the UB sports centre where we were supposed to host our launch unfortunately UB had a meeting with UB Council where they were told that some leaders have instructed them not to allow us use the venue for the event,” Shawn Ntlhaile, UDC Gaborone North candidate said.
He added they were further told that UB has put a stop to hosting political events which left them puzzled. Ntlhaile stated that this was just a ploy by those in power to daunt their launch. “We will now host the launch at Royal Aria Stadium. This is a result of what we always talk about how the ruling party uses the public’s resources like radio stations to themselves only. “They knew that UDC will be launching the manifesto at UB and they interfered,” he said.
However, he said they remained steadfast and will continue with their launch at Royal Aria. “This was a way to disturb us to do our job as we had planned at UB sports arena, but we want to say to Batswana that UDC is still going ahead. And everyone will be there tomorrow including Duma Boko,” he added.
When reached for comment, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) spokesperson Kagelelelo Kentse rubbished UDC’s claims of intimidation. "UB has its own internal processes and determinations. It has nothing to do with the BDP. "We really don’t care where UDC holds its manifesto launch, all we care about is to humiliate them at the polls. We don't even know the reasons why UB declined their application," Kentse said.
