Ramotlhwa breaks silence over departure
Ayear after his removal from office axed-former Botswana Football Association (BFA) vice president, Segolame Ramotlhwa has finally broken the silence on his departure.
In a long letter addressed to the BFA ordinary general assembly delegates, Ramotlhwa hits out at the BFA leadership.
Ramotlhwa was removed from his position as BFA first vice president in October 2019, following a fall out with president, Maclean Letshwiti. Ramotlhwa challenges his dismissal in a strong worded 12-page letter.
He alleged that there had been a plot to remove him a year and half before his exit by the BFA president and his ‘friends’.
Ramotlhwa said the first attempt was in February 2018 in a National Executive Committee (NEC), but the efforts were unsuccessful.
“I hope to demonstrate through this submission
that my removal was unjustified, pre‐planned, and had been coming for a long
time. This is because I have on numerous occasions differed with the BFA NEC particularly the President who regrettably appeared to have some hold over the other members who sadly could not bring themselves to holding him to account. In fact, the President first attempt-ed to get me removed from the NEC at a meeting of the NEC held on 23 February 2018 for ridiculous reasons but failed on that particular day.” The President consistently disregarded procedures laid down by BFA Statutes, including the BFA Constitution, in major decisions/actions most of which had potential/serious administrative and financial bearings; a behaviour and/or conduct that I found highly unacceptable, especially dealing with an organisation like BFA which is funded by the taxpayer. I was consequently seen as the odd one out or the ‘ black sheep’ of the team,” Ramotlhwa says.
He further alleged that Letshwiti has shares in the proposed BFA academy. The academy, which is a joint project between the association and the government, was to aid in the development of talent from grassroots level while aiding in bringing funds in the cash-strapped association. “The BFA Academy where I demanded that all members of the NEC now and in future and their associates, BFA Secretariat now and in future as well as the same with respect to BNSC all be prohibited from ever holding shares in the Football Academy Project. The same people must be strictly prohibited from receiving any remuneration for having played any role in facilitation of the project.
My proposal was that the forego-ing conditions be part of the conditions for Government of
Botswana (GoB) to avail land free for the Project; to say that this was strongly opposed by the President and aligned NEC members is an understatement; I was almost killed. My view was that if people wanted to have shares in the business, they could not obtain government land in the manner used because, in my considered view that would amount to obtaining, such land through false pretenses,” the letter said.
Ramotlhwa has had a love-hate relationship with the BFA, serving under the last three of the four presidents.
He was the only surviving member when David Fani’s camp swept the stakes in the 2008 election, defeating then incumbent, Phillip Makgalemele. He quit after sharp differences with the Fani camp, barely a year after he took office as BFA vice presidentadministration.
He was back running for office, but lost to Tariq Babitseng for the same post in June 2014. Following the defeat to Babitseng in 2014, Ramot-lhwa was back in 2016, this time in the corner of Letshwiti.
Letshwiti said the BFA president does not have executive powers and therefore, decisions are made through a collective.
“Again if you do not agree with people, then you decide to take internal issues to the public, where is your integrity? Is that leadership? The per-son we are talking about has had problems with almost all previous BFA administrations. You should ask yourself why it is common with him,” Letshwiti said, in a brief response.