The Botswana Gazette investigations have unearthed a report entitled The Plan to Disband the BDP penned by the deported Zambian national, Jerry Chitube shortly after the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primary elections in 2013. The report, believed to have been commissioned by some party elders, is said to have been shelved immediately after its presentation for it revealed damning information about some of the ‘big shots’ within the party. It also exposed irregularities in the 2013 primary elections with all accusing fingers pointed towards party lawyer and chairperson of the party electoral committee, Parks Tafa. Chitube stops short of insinuating that Tafa is out to engineer the fall of President Ian Khama and to disband the BDP.
In the report, Chitube states that the BDP has sustained heavy blows unparalleled to any it has experienced in a long time. “There is a definite sign that a revolution is brewing. Revolutions are effected in two ways: that is by force or by fraud. Though there is no physical violence in the aspect of fraud, it does violence to the will of the people that have been deceived,” he wrote.
Chitube further states that the primary elections are just the beginning of such fraud. He writes that citizens are deceived into acquiescing in a change of government and afterwards they are held in subjection against their will, while in other cases they may subsequently be persuaded and their allegiance and good will won. He went on to applaud Tafa for what he termed a game well played and terms him the best lawyer that this country has ever seen and yet to see.
Chitube further states that no political party can bring down the BDP. “…it has to be done from within. The ingredients are simple; all that is needed is a lawyer with the President’s trust and an ambitious politician with the media in control plus a chairperson whose teeth have been loosened,” he writes.
Chitube alleges in the report that Tafa deceived the President into thinking that all was well with the primary elections “On the other hand he had us believing that the President has a wish list that needs to be satisfied with regards to who should make it to parliament and who should not and subsequently satisfy his choice of cabinet. To sell this, he needed to handle the BDP from top to bottom,” asserts Chitube.
The report further reveals that the unfettered access that the President had given Tafa has seen him manipulate the voters roll with the help of a certain woman (name withheld) at Tsholetsa House. “This as she has admitted has not been the first time she has been bribed to do this. All this happened under Guma Moyo’s nose! What could he really do? The President had permitted it,” reads the report in part.
“I would have wanted to believe that Tafa had nothing to do with Ramadeluka Seretse’s loss in Serowe North. With all I have heard, though many will disagree, I am certain that Tafa orchestrated the loss of Seretse in Serowe North to simply spark media issues and this revolution within the BDP,” states Chitube.
Chitube further alleges that Seretse would indeed seem like he was being favoured as he had a shot at the primary election re-run and that is just what is needed to spark others into a revolt. Chitube reckons that to Seretse, Tafa seemed like he was helping him to finally win the primary election. He further states that he knew for a fact that if Tafa wished it, his magic formula would have saved Seretse’s political career. He states that people who were truly viable contenders for cabinet were the caliber that would limit Khama’s choice for cabinet. “The woman at Tsholetsa House will agree that there was nothing fair about the primary elections and her loud mouth nearly gave up the secret and it was interesting to watch Tafa try to shut her down,” Chitube alleges. He says further that in true sense the woman at Tsholetsa House is the king maker and every man wishing to run for office must first bribe her. The ‘woman’, according to Chitube, is only interested in the bribe that affords her extra comforts and little does she know that all her efforts have been to bring the ‘House of Khama’ down.
“Revolution is not always against the tide, at times it flows with the tide. Tafa and his team want to overthrow the established order rather than develop its latent tendencies. The game played where voters were removed from the voters roll or should we clarify that most were displaced so as to appear elsewhere making it impossible for them to reach their voting points, is going to heavily affect the party and needs to be rectified,” writes Chitube, who further alleges that it has been proven that some voter cards were made to disappear to ensure that they do not vote. Chitube points out that, the masses realized the cheating and are calling for the leadership to reign hard on the people involved.
In his recommendations, Chitube proposes that a special congress be called insisting that the president is the only one who could save the BDP. “It is up to the President to step up to the plate. Some decisions can only be made by him. However, may I emphasize that an investigation into these actions must be probed or else the 2009 saga that led to the formation of BMD (Botswana Movement for Democracy) is about to repeat itself amplified.” Chitube concluded. Tafa was not available for comment despite being sent text messages for enquiry, phone calls were unsuccessful.