UDC�s Mathokgwane gambit
Friday, August 28, 2015

Mathokgwane
Around 4pm on the Goodhope/Mabule by-election day, a group of journalists gathered outside Dinatshana Primary School polling station.
They had picked up a tip-off that James Mathokgwane, the man that caused the by-election after his mysterious and sudden resignation from Parliament and later controversially being appointed for a plum post at SPEDU, would be casting his vote there at 4pm. Mathokgwane was however late and journalists were growing impatient and doubting whether the SPEDU man would even bother coming. Interestingly, members of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), the party that he successfully represented in the previous elections but later dumped the parliamentary seat, were the ones communicating with Mathokgwane and updating journalists about his whereabouts. They assured the media that he was surely on his way.
While every citizen, including the Head of State, has the right to voice opinions, the tone and context of the President’s comments were regrettably dismissive and risk chilling free expression in our country. The remarks are not isolated. They form part of a disturbing pattern of public attacks on independent institutions pillars essential to the healthy functioning of our democracy. The Judiciary, the Legislature, and now the media have all...