GANTSI: The BotswanaNational Front (BNF)president, Duma Bokotold delegates at the party nationalcongress held in Gantsi overthe weekend that the ruling BotswanaDemocratic Party (BDP)has tried in vain to recruit him.He said the BDP sends people,some of whom are foreigners, tohim day and night promising himmillions to lure him into theircamp. He said he believes thatthey do not know who he is. “Ijust look at them and say you donot understand me, you do notknow me,” he said.Boko took the platform in Gantsito rubbish reports that he hasbeen promised a ministerial positionshould he join the BDP.
Hewas being linked with the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, currentlyheaded by former attorney general,Phandu Skelemani.In response to the reports Bokosaid; “These kinds of talks arediscussed by the members of theBDP but the discussions are headedby some of the BNF memberswho I can describe as crazy. Theseallegations can never be true. If atall I wanted a position in ForeignAffairs I could have fi rst gone toseek political home in the BDPand take that position.”The BDP has since condemnedsome opposition party memberswho claim to have been offeredmoney to join them. The recentlyre-elected party secretary general,Mpho Balopi has said that oppositionparty members who seekhome within the BDP are onlydriven by the good governancethat the BDP has.
In what can be described as asurprise to the members of theBNF who attended the congressunder the theme ‘Unity in diversitytowards the emancipation ofBatswana in 2014 and beyond,’Boko revealed that he will getmarried soon and Botswana beinga bachelor state will be athing of the past after the 2014general elections which he is confident his party will win. He saidhe will never be like PresidentIan Khama who he describedas a bachelor. Boko showed thecrowd his fi ancé who hails fromThamaga.“I plan to marry so that whenI take over the government come2014 I have a companion.
Let’sjust hope that maybe some of theleaders who have not yet reachedthat stage, their time will come ifat all they are not spinsters,” hesaid.Boko said before he was votedBNF president, some political organizationshoped that the BNFhad a weak leader who cannotstand for the party but that didnot happen as they voted a smartleader into power. “Some politicalorganizations were expectingsome individuals to front the partybut the BNF dug from the bottomof the deck. When the BDP votedKhama for presidency, and whenthe Botswana Congress Partyvoted Dumelang Saleshando forpresidency, the BNF voted me astheirs. I am more intellectual andmuch smarter than Khama andSaleshando combined,” Bokosaid.
He emphasized that while he isstill the leader of the BNF he willnot tolerate those who negativelyinfl uence other members or whodeliberately tarnish the image ofthe BNF. “Anybody who disturbspeace, who tarnishes the imageof the Botswana National Front,will be removed from the party.It must be like that so that by thetime we go for 2014 general electionsall of us are on the samepage. We must always rememberthat as members of the BNF ourparty comes fi rst before each andevery individual. We do not allowindividuals who go againstthe party’s constitution,” he said.