BDP strategist dumps the party
Ookeditse joins BPF Says BDP has no answers for people’s needs
Lawrence Ookeditse, a staunch activist and strategist of the Botswana Democratic Party ( BDP) has left the party to join its splinter side, the Botswana Patriotic Front ( BPF).
Ookeditse, who was part of the BDP war room during the 2014 general election, contested and lost during the party’s primary elections in 2018 against Polson Majaga, Member of Parliament for Nata- Gweta. Ookeditse was once shortlisted for the BDP plum post of Executive Secretary, and served in the party’s Communications and International Relations Sub- Committee.
An intellectual of note, Ookeditse shocked many this week when he publicly announced that he no longer believes the dreams he had at BDP for Batswana would be achieved and it is time for him to go. In his farewell message posted on his Facebook account, Ookeditse indicated that it is time for him to fight for his people from the other side.
During his time at the BDP, Ookeditse was among those who played a critical role in ensuring that President Mokgweetsi Masisi retained his BDP Chairmanship and Vice President seats at the party’s 2017 Tonota elective congress. Last year when he was rumoured to be heading to BPF and having lost interest and hope in the ruling party, Ookeditse dismissed the claim, stating that he was a staunch BDP member. At some point he was at odds with the BDP on whether former President Ian Khama was a dictator during his time, arguing that Khama was never a dictator.
This week in his departing letter, Ookeditse said “I leave to go to fight for the same ideals I joined the BDP, seeking to advance: the development of our country for the collective good of all its people. This is my duty of citizenship. When you come from parts of the country that some of us come from, each time you go home Gwaa looks
at you and you also see him. Koketso is there and so is David. If you are with conscience, they get you asking yourself, if we have done enough and if we are honest to them, and their vote. They prick your conscience.”
He said he still has a conscience. “I worry a lot about these people. I live with them. I grew up with them. I must answer them candidly with honest answers. But I now fail to answer them, to give them hope. Is there hope that the next day will be better for them? It is this very question that drew me to politics, had me leave a plumb job and run for Parliament,” said Ookeditse.
He contends that prior to the election and for some time now, he nurtured the belief that they would get to the answer. I no longer believe we have the answer to the question within the BDP, he said. “To President Masisi, thank you for the good and bad times and good luck in leading the Republic. I harbor no ill will. That said, I believe the country now needs to fundamentally change direction. You need to hear the cries of the people out in the streets. See their faces and feel their pain in their hearts. Start with those who surround you who feel muted, who cry to outsiders. They are deeply worried, not for you only but for the country. I do not believe change would destroy the Republic. It would rather bring out the best for our country as no one would act with impunity,” he stated. According to Ookeditse, he is not expected to be treated special in the opposition. He said he comes to roll up his sleeves and fight by the side of those in opposition. “I come to learn and also contribute to the collective effort to birth something better, something more inclusive and profitable. As usual, I will give the best of me. What spaces or roles there are to play, I will play. Have no fears that I come to take. I have nothing I have kept that side to come and take.”