THE BNF SPLIT
New party on the horizon as Kopano faces collapse
Conflict-prone Botswana National Front (BNF) is headed for yet another split. According to multiple sources in the party, the straw that broke the camel’s back is the recent party congress pitting the party president Duma Boko against challenger, Dr Baatlhodi Molatlhegi. Boko won by a landslide.
Before the congress, the Molatlhegi team had alleged chicanery and a lack of transparency in the processes pertaining to the selection of delegates.
Molathegi and his supporters also alleged that the Boko lobby, aided by the party office staff, continued to register new members, as well as print membership cards for them even after the deadline.
It is alleged that the founders of the new party believe that they cannot be part of a BNF that is run by a President who does not consult. Boko is alleged to be controlled by the Patron of the Botswana Patriotic Front and self-exiled former president Dr. Ian Khama and his controversial financier - Moti.
One of the disgruntled members, who spoke on condition of anonymity claims that the BNF under Boko is run by brutes that use social media to terrorise detractors. In every corner of social media, they claim, the BNF leader has activists always ready to attack whoever has divergent views from that of Boko.
The recent congress, which was preceded by a tempest of instability within the party, leading to a court case, was the breaking point.
It is alleged that the Boko faction used its control of the office to manipulate processes in order to vanquish their opponents. Further, it is said that members of the Molatlhegi faction were denied the opportunity to submit delegates, and candidates that were not on the Boko lobby list were even denied the nomination.
According to the sources, the disgruntled group is clearly not wanted and hence they have decided to establish their own political home, “where there is tolerance, and good governance unlike in the BNF where the leader of the BNF is a demigod.”
Dr. Prince Dibeela, who is alleged to be the leader of this new formation, has declined to comment.
The BNF, whose slogan is Kopano, which means unity, has ironically, experienced at least five splits since its founding in 1965.
The most significant split was the 1998 one when the party lost a total of 11 Members of Parliament (MPs) and scores of Councillors who then pioneered the formation of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
For starters, the BNF has for the longest time been a house divided. Perhaps ominously, Boko’s presidency was challenged from day one, a matter that went to court, on allegations that he was not a bonafide member of the BNF.
He was deemed a member of the then National Democratic Front (NDF). Allegedly, the office and a group in the BNF forged a membership card for him. His detractors accused him of having moved from one party and became President of another overnight.
A renowned lawyer, Boko prevailed and became the president of the BNF. He also became the first president of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), a position he still holds 10 years later.
It was not long before he was accused of unilateralism in both the BNF and UDC. A number of party officials, notably his deputy, Isaac Mabiletsa, left the party and joined the Botswana Congress Party (BCP).
The BNF leader also attracted controversy when he expelled party members such as Gabriel Kanjabanga and Lemogang Ntime, among others.
In 2017, he controversially accepted the BCP into the UDC after disgorging the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) from the coalition. He is also accused of having pushed out the UDC convenors and ostracised the Labour unions.
Some BNF members are not happy about his relationship with the former president, Dr. Ian Khama, whose reign they say was characterised by corruption and extra-judicial killings.
In fact, many believe that it is the Khama factor in the UDC that led to the massive loss in the southern part of the country than the party’s alleged rigging.
However, BNF spokesperson, Justin Hunyepa told The Midweek Sun in an interview that there is no such splitting at the BNF. “The doomsayers are always getting it wrong. They said BNF Women’s League would be marred by violence, there was no violence. They promised the nation blood at the BNF Youth League congress and there was no blood,” Hunyepa said, adding that the BNF detractors also saw endless blood and battle at the party national congress.
Such doomsayers, he noted, are sponsored by state organs and bitter non-BNF members to spread propaganda.