Clash of egos polarizes the UDC

Yes I also wanted the press conference to be postponed but changed my mind - Molapisi

For the second time in two weeks, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has demonstrated the extent to which they are polarised.

UDC affiliates are Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).

Two weeks ago, the BCP leadership did not participate in a virtual NEC meeting arguing that their partners gave them the link when the meeting was almost over.

In a press statement circulated by Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang, who doubles as BCP vice president and acting secretary general of the BCP, the BCP official decried lack of communication regarding the pressconference and a number of issues.

Dr Gobotswang reveals that, on June 15, 2021, the BCP received a WhatsApp message from the UDC Head of Communications, Moeti Mohwasa reminding the National Executive Committee (NEC) members of the UDC that, the UDC president, Duma Boko, accompanied by the vice president of the coalition, Dumelang Saleshando, will address the press conference. “It emerged that, the decision to hold the press conference was taken at the UDC meeting held in Mahalapye on June 10th which the BCP was scheduled to attend virtually but could not as the host sent the link for the meeting very late,” said the BCP official whose party complained at the time, that, their inability to attend the June 10 meeting was orchestrated by the BNF and BPP by denying them the link until it was too late. Dr Gobotswang is also not happy that at the time of announcing the press conference the resolutions of the meeting of June 10th had not been communicated to members of the NEC who were not in attendance. “Nor was the vice president contacted to confirm his availability before the advertisement was circulated. The issues to be discussed at the press conference have not been shared with the BCP. Our attempts to solicit these have to date been ignored,” the BCP leader noted and added that Saleshando was also kept in the dark regarding the agenda of the press conference.

Dr Gobotswang explains that, due to the lack of communication, his party proposed a postponement of the press-conference to allow the party leaders to meet and agree on what the UDC needs to do “for its own internal stability and for the good of the nation.” According to the press statement, the UDC chairman, Motlatsi Molapisi, who is also the president of the BPP, was also of the view that, the press conference be postponed. “However the suggestion was rejected by the UDC president, Comrade Duma Boko,” lamented Dr Gobotswang. In an interview, an angry Molapisi told this publication that the discussion was confidential and a press statement should not have been made on it. “In any case, what he says about me is not accurate. Although I initially agreed with the BCP’s proposal for a postponement, I later changed my position after listening to the contrary point of view,” Molapisi said.

When asked at the press conference about the BCP boycotting the event, Boko was evasive. He said that, his was only executing an instruction from the UDC NEC which instructed him to hold the press conference.

“If I had not held the press conference, I would have violated an instruction from the UDC NEC,” said Boko who emphasised that, on the contrary, there was no instruction from NEC telling him to not address the press conference.

The BPP would later release a statement denying ever supporting the BCP in their stance against the Monday press conference. They state their presence at the meeting as enough evidence that they never called for the postponement of the press conference. Incidentally, the BPP was represented at the press conference by former BCP activists Philip Bulawa, the party’s acting Secretary General, and Nono Kgafela-Mokoka who is the party’s Publicity Secretary. In dismissing the BCP’s mentioning of their President in the request to postpone the press conference, Kgafela-Mokoka wrote: “The BPP is an autonomous legal entity and would not want to have any other party advance any ideas or reports on its behalf. We therefore, would like to advise our UDC partners to desist from making any statement about the party without prior consultation, especially when such statements are made public. Such act could damage the relationship between BPP and other UDC partners.” All these point to a coalition engulfed by tensions and glaring internal squabbles, according to the die hard followers of the contracting parties who later took to social media to ask for calmness. Many argue that if there were no bigger issues of concern, the BCP would have not boycotted the meeting, saying surely the party had deliberately wanted to make a statement. Speculation has been rife that the two UDC leaders Boko and Saleshando are at loggerheads, with the BPP said to sympathise more with the BNF leader whom they are always backing whenever any form of conflict surfaces. More of this is said to stem from the fact that the two parties view the BCP as some Johnny-Come-Lately in the coalition, and already wanting to dictate terms of operation. The BCP has of late been calling for the democratisation of the UDC by among others, allowing members to vote for the President and other positions - a move the BNF and the BPP do not support. Kgafela-Mokoka wrote this week: “The BPP is a co-founder of the UDC and hence could never at any point act in any way that could impede the progress of the coalition.” In relation to the concerns by the BCP, Boko repeated that he had no time for petty talk, and suggested that those making a lot of noise within the coalition may have been sent to cause havoc by the UDC’s political opponents. It remains to be seen how the relations of the contracting parties will unfold, given the recent tensions.