This week’s suspension of Dikoloti ended a bloody battle and something red was spilt by the central committee’s decision and it is the same smell, which has now attracted the olfactory organs of the royal blue wolves.
Researchers have discovered that the same molecule in blood that attracts predators also triggers an avoidance response in prey species. Speaking of avoidance, disgruntled members in this constituency have decided to repel the chosen candidate, Serame, making her fall prey to the UDC, which is aiming to reclaim the constituency they held between 2014 and 2019. Of course back then it was still Goodhope-Mabule but it has now been merged with Molapowabojang-Mmathethe to form the current Goodhope-Mmathethe.
The Delimitation Commission combined two jungles pitting together two key BDP hunters whose fight has now opened up opportunity for the opposition to invade the territory. Members of the BDP, as Mmegi team traversed the area, feel that they would rather vote for the opposition than vote for Serame whom they claim is not one of their own. “This area is going back to the opposition. The UDC candidate is someone we know and has been visible; Serame was chosen by them not us,” one of the constituents said.
The opposition has been relatively quiet in the constituency as Serame and Dikoloti’s war boiled over. Since last week, some BDP activists here say that the opposition is licking their lips and were even trying to lure Dikoloti to their pack before he decided to run as an independent candidate. It is said they want to pounce on this opportunity and treat Serame’s candidacy as a fresh kill.
The loyal BDP members who now have to sell Serame to the constituents also say they are already getting early cues that the predator that wants to eat them is approaching and is close by. They also feel that it is getting dark for the BDP in the constituency and when visibility begins to diminish, no one will be there to help warn Serame of the presence of the UDC predators. Even though they did not want to spell it out that she is on her own, the members say Serame will have to rely on her vision because her quest to become elected MP has created low light conditions in her journey towards the October 30 polls. Indication in the area is that the BDP darkness swings the odds massively in the UDC’s favour, and the hunger for Goodhope-Mmathethe gives the latter urgency, a purpose to reclaim what was formerly theirs.
Consequently, smell is actually one of the most essential senses for predators and as the UDC hunts for the BDP in packs, they feel that they could indeed have a win in sight if their noses complement their eyes.
The scent of BDP’s bloody wars in the constituency has increased candidate Geoffrey Seleka’s alertness and visual perception. From Metlojane to Hebron, Seleka’s posters already hang on billboards and walls around the constituency and the fact that the BDP has had the constituents in suspense for the longest time does not help the situation. Seleka is a former director of marketing, communications and registration at the Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH). The man has a lot of experience in the Information and Communication Technologies sector. Skilled as he is in the IT sector, Seleka now enters the hostile political environment and comes at a time when his party needs a skilled hunter who cannot only track and find the injured prey but survive in this former habitat. In order to find prey, Seleka also has to react to scents in the environment because rival hunter, Dikoloti, who was briefly put down has now re-emerged after the BDP suspended him.
The fresh kill in Goodhope-Mmathethe was made not by other predators but by the BDP CC itself, therefore, Seleka with about a month before next month’s polls, is expected to have keen sense of smell and locate the injured. He will have to show the UDC that he has impressive ability to detect scents from far distances. With the BDP injury in Goodhope-Mmathethe self inflicted, Seleka is expected to conserve energy for the polling day rather than do a full on stalk and chase.
Looking back, Goodhope-Mabule formerly called Barolong had always been a BDP stronghold during the times of the late Ronald Sebego as MP from the 1980s to 2004. Despite this rich history, the BDP which held the Goodhope-Mabule under Eric Molale from 2019-2024, cannot really say they have marked this territory, which was previously held by the UDC affiliate Botswana National Front (BNF) for just one term. The latter wrestled this constituency from the BDP when James Mathokgwane beat BDP’s Kitso Mokaila in the 2014 General Election. Mokaila had held the constituency formerly called Barolong from 2004 to 2014. After a year in office, Mathokgwane resigned triggering a by-election, which forced Barolong chief Kgosi Lotlamoreng to join politics under the opposition banner in 2015. In a win that was never really in doubt, Lotlamoreng as royalty beat former PSP Molale convincingly. Molale would later come back to reclaim it from the UDC when Lotlamoreng retired from politics after the end of the 11th Parliament. Despite BNF’s Dr Patrick Molutsi failing to retain the constituency for the party in 2019, the UDC now feels that Serame could be an easy kill with the BDP divided over Dikoloti ouster.
Mmathethe-Molapowabojang previously called Ngwaketse South was a BNF stronghold in the 80s and 90s during the times of the late area MPs Kgosi Dennis Mosielele, Geoffrey Mosimakoko and Kebadire Kalake.
The BNF has never really made a mark since Kalake lost it to BDP’s Peter Siele in the 2004 General Election. Dikoloti entered the area by beating then incumbent MP Alfred Madigele in the BDP primaries in 2019. Madigele himself had ousted long time area MP Siele in the 2014 primaries.
Early November, if the BDP does not retain the merged constituencies, the UDC could be found with full bellies that indicate another successful hunt against the red movement. This is not an imagined jungle playbook because the voters in this new constituency will eventually decide if the UDC stands a greater chance of success, or they still trust the BDP to lead them.
