Motshegwa, who is one of the members of the UDC National Executive Committee (NEC) and also a Botswana National Front (BNF) secretary-general, will be officially launched at Maphoka Freedom Square in what will also be an emotional homecoming for the veteran unionist-cum-politician. Motshegwa will on Saturday, alongside his team of aspiring councillors, officially receive the mandate from the UDC president, Duma Boko, to represent the coalition at the 2024 General Election. After being given a new lease of life since he gave away his parliamentary candidacy at Gaborone Bonnington South constituency to the Alliance for Progressives (AP) president Ndaba Goalathe, Motshegwa is expected to put up a spirited fight to wrestle the Mmadinare constituency from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
Motshegwa was set to contest the Gaborone Bonnington South constituency seat again but was forced to make way for Gaolathe when AP joined the UDC last year. Gaolathe and Motshegwa fought on opposite sides in 2019, but voter splitting between the two meant that BDP’s Christian Greeff emerged the victor, snatching away the area from the opposition. Gaolathe was the incumbent at the time and he came second with 3, 461 votes. Motshegwa was third with 2, 367 votes while Greeff got 4, 603 votes to emerge the winner. In Mmadinare, which is a BDP stronghold, the veteran trade unionist has his work cut out for him as he will come up against BDP’s Kefentse Mzwinila and Botswana Congress Party’s (BCP) Sennye Obuseng. The battle for this constituency is expected to produce fireworks as all the candidates are not pushovers.
