MP Majaga and Council Chair, Kehitile, in bitter battle for Nata/gweta
“Gloves are off in the Nata/ Gweta Constituency where incumbent Member of Parliament, Polson Majaga, is facing a possible face-off with the current Tutume District Council Chairperson and Councillor for Dukwi village, Thatayaone Kehitile.
Nata/gweta people deserve a humble leader who’ll represent their aspirations and, most importantly, unite them.”
Kehitile, who has made his intentions to run for parliamentary office clear to his party, Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), was recently thrust into the leadership of the new district, in a council where both the ruling party and opposition parties have 13 councillors each. Since assuming the leadership role, Kehitile has been actively campaigning in the area, something he said has irked MP Majaga.
Ac c o r d i n g to Kehitle, MP Majaga has since sidelined him and never invites him to his kgotla meetings.
“The problem with our MP is that he has never accepted me as a political leader in Dukwi. He must accept this reality that people have voted for me, and that, should I win the BPF primaries, I’ll be challenging him in the 2024 general elections,” fired Kehitile.
The councillor said it has become impossible to work with Majaga, resulting in delays of some projects.
“The MP has divided the constituency, and people are fed up with him, something has to change. The Nata/gweta people deserve a humble leader who’ll represent their aspirations and, most importantly, unite them,” he said.
The Tutume Council Chairperson blames Majaga for the divisions within the constituency, which he said hamper development.
Kehitile said Majaga never acknowledges him in his meetings, and has made it very clear that he did not want to work with him in a recent text message telling him to stay away from his consultative meetings.
“As protocol dictates, a councillor should be part of the programme in a meeting. Usually, we give a vote of thanks, but the MP is not willing to give me even that,” claimed Kehitile.
In a screenshot of an text message allegedly from the MP, Majaga tells Kehitile, “Good day! Sir! Just to inform you that, ha ke go thoke mo diphuthego tsame rraetsho, o ka tsweledisa ditiro ka ditiro tsa gago tsa council! (Just to let you know that I don’t need you at my meetings. Continue with your council duties).” “This hostility towards me is because he knows I plan to challenge him,”
However, another councillor, Mactean Jimane of Lepashe, also a BPF member, said while his Cdes in the opposition bloc have complained about the bad blood between them and the MP, he has never experienced that.
“I know they don’t see eye to eye, but I work well with the MP. I call him and let him know what my constituents are saying. I also know where I stand when it comes to kgotla meetings, There’s no way I can be excluded from the programme, it’s simple protocol,” said Jimane.
The Nata/gweta constituency has seven council wards, four of which are in the hands of the opposition. Following the de-limitation exercise, the wards have been increased to 11 going into the 2024 general elections.
MP Majaga was contacted, but his phone rang unanswered. Messages were also sent to his Whatsapp two weeks ago but he did not respond.