Butale faces BPF storm

Accused of failure to account for party merchandise and funds Sources say accusations are a grand plan to oust Butale from presidency

Botswana Patriotic Front ( BPF) is a party at war with itself, Botswana Guardian can reveal.

BPF is no longer a happy home for the party’s National Executive Committee ( NEC) members.

Bickering and backstabbing have found their way into the NEC of the party, which shocked many when within four months of formation, it managed to win three ( 3) Parliamentary seats and 16 council seats.

There are accusations that the party leader Biggie Butale has for long failed to account for party funds and merchandise.

On the other hand, close associates of the president inside the NEC and party loyalists say the accusations are part of a grand plan to remove Butale from the presidency at the next party elective congress.

It is alleged that a campaign plan is already afoot to remove Butale from the presidency. Central to the fight within the NEC is said to be merchandise, mostly party branded T- shirts which were to be used for the 2019 general election and about P400 000.00 which is said to have been sourced by party Patron Dr. Ian Khama to assist the party in its campaign.

Some members of the party who contested for elections either for parliament or council are said to be up in arms after they made contributions towards the buying of the party T- shirts for distribution to constituencies that the party was contesting so they could be given to voters. BPF President Butale dismissed the claims. He said as far as he knows the issue of T- shirts was dealt with during elections last year and that no one has ever brought up the issue again.

It is further alleged that funds were deposited directly into the president’s personal account. Butale is also accused of having used his position and the party name to source funds for the campaign only for the money to be used in his constituency, Tati West, which he lost to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP).

Butale told Botswana Guardian that without blowing his own horn, he has done a lot for the party financially ahead of the 2019 general election. Butale has also been accused by the NEC for failing to account for the P400