No suspension letters yet for Saleshando, Kekgonegile
It is almost two months since the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) president Dumelang Saleshando and secretary-general Goretetse Kekgonegile were suspended from the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) but the duo has not yet received their suspension letters.
This is despite the fact that the UDC spokesperson, Moeti Mohwasa and president Duma Boko had addressed a press conference about their suspension. What shocks the two is that the UDC seems unbothered to communicate with them formally about the matter.
The BCP is an affiliate of the UDC. The duo was told of the suspension on June 25, 2022, and it is supposed to end on September 24, 2022.
The two BCP leaders were slapped with suspensions by the UDC national executive committee (NEC) for allegedly refusing to apologise to the UDC over remarks they uttered. This came about after the suspended members were alleged to have been attacking the party publicly.
Contacted for comment, Kekgonegile said there has not been any communication and he is not expecting such as he did not do anything wrong so there’s nothing to charge him with. “Honestly, the suspension has no extremely negative impact on me and given the new paradigm shift, my political life continues in that direction,” explained Kekgonegile this week. On the other hand, Saleshando said: “I have not received any suspension letter. Our suspension ends on September 24, 2022. Governance at UDC doesn’t matter.”
After being suspended from the UDC, the duo demanded the coalition NEC to withdraw the three months suspension failure of which resulted in them taking the UDC to court. In an interview with Mmegi on Wednesday, the UDC spokesperson Mohwasa said a disciplinary process is internal by nature and therefore, it would be wrong to discuss details of such a process. Furthermore, noting that this is a matter that has been taken to court and it, therefore, constraints them from giving details.
University of Botswana political analyst, Keaoleboga Dipogiso said for him it is clear that the battle lines have been drawn, but the BCP strategy to not leave UDC places the latter in deep contradiction.
“Remember, initially it was said by the leader of the UDC that it’s undesirable to expel the whole party, as members of the BCP couldn’t be drawn to the issues that caused their president’s suspension,” he said.
Dipogiso added that the defiance of the BCP duo tightens the plot for the UDC and should the impending hearing come, it will be surprising if they do not get a heftier sanction. Moreover, he said it weighs down on the indecisiveness of the UDC leadership, as they continue to exist with a party that cannot participate in its activities.
Meanwhile, the attorney for Saleshando and Kekgonegile, Martin Dingake, wrote to the UDC head of communications Mohwasa to withdraw the suspension by end of business that day.
“We have been instructed to demand as we hereby do that you withdraw the suspension forthwith, and in any event, no later than the end of business today [28th June 2022], failure of which clients shall exercise other available options to vindicate their rights,” Dingake wrote.
The duo has taken the UDC to court to challenge their suspension. On the other hand, the BCP has taken a resolution to observe the UDC for six months. If some issues are not resolved, the BCP will then make a decision to quit the UDC. So far, the BCP has started cooperation talks with the Alliance for Progressives (AP) for a possible new coalition ahead of the 2024 General Election.
Speaking about the suspension of the duo in June this year, the UDC president Boko said: “What Saleshando and Kekgonegile did has put down the UDC. What they did was equal to standing on the streets and ridiculing the UDC by even saying we cannot replace President Mokgweetsi Masisi with another Masisi. Most of these demeaning words go to the same voters we want voting for us in 2024. This is unacceptable because we are the campaigners of the UDC who ask for people’s votes and we want to show Batswana the worth of the UDC.”
Boko also said the suspended duo destroyed and belittled the coalition, and therefore, they burned the UDC house down. Boko added that both Saleshando and Kekgonegile were given a chance to apologise but they failed. He said the NEC’s decision was simple because the duo had to publicly retract their statements before the then weekend’s NEC meeting. He indicated that what they have in the UDC is democratic centralism therefore, every leader has to respect the majority decision that is taken by the leadership. He said leaders who do not agree with leadership majority decisions are not supposed to go out there and demean the UDC.
But even after being suspended, Saleshando said they did not apologise because they feel strongly about the issues they raised. “Democracy needs someone to speak on its behalf unapologetically. Good governance needs a voice, not a weak unapologetic voice,” Saleshando revealed during a press briefing after the announcement of their suspension. But even after being suspended, Saleshando said they did not apologise because they feel strongly about the issues they raised. He said they wanted conflict resolution mechanism within the UDC but that was never granted.