- Molale opponent, Motsaathebe’s name does not appear in the voters’ roll
- Molale claims ignorance, “Blame Tsholetsa”
TEFO PHEAGE
Wars over the much contested Goodhope/Mabule constituency have taken another twist after it emerged last-week that the name of the opponent of Presidential Affairs Minister, Eric Molale, Fankie Motsaathebe does not appear in the voters’ roll.
While Motsaathebe’s supporters impute the usual improper motives by Molale and the party leadership, Molale pleads innocent, saying he is not aware that Motsaathebe’s name does not appear in the Botswana Demotratic Party (BDP) primary elections voters’ roll.
“I am not aware that his name does not appear in the roll, even if I knew, there was nothing I could do about it. It is a matter between him and Tsholetsa (BDP Headquarters). Maybe it is an innocent omission that he needs to take up with Tsholetsa and correct,” Molale told The Botswana Gazette yesterday.
Motsaathebe’s supporters posit that the omission is part of a relentless plot by Molale and the party leadership to frustrate the area’s “future MP”. While the BDP has given Motsaathebe the green-light to contest in the constituency, the biggest complaint is that the voters roll shows that only about half of the number of voters previously registered have registered this time, something they say is proof of voters roll manipulation.
In an interview with this publication, Motsaathebe said he had taken a decision not to make public comments on matters relating to the constituency for now, “We will speak when the time is right, please bear with us, we believe all the pending issues will be resolved through proper channels,” he said.
The battle for the constituency has in recent times attracted attention and publicity controversial antagonistic battles which nearly ended in court, had the BDP not acted swiftly to avert the embarrassment.
Molale is believed to be a critical part of Khama’s succession plan hence his all-out efforts to win himself a parliamentary seat. Recently there was an uproar concerning the perceived preferential treatment of Regional Chairperson, Olefile Tlhobogang, who is among other things criticized for using Molale’s personal car for official party duties.
“It is true that we are using Molale’s car. He offered us the car as an elder in the constituency. He occasionally assists us when there is a need,” Tlhobogang said at the time.
Previously Molale beat Motsaathebe by a close margin of 78, an outcome that was heavily protested with court threats by the latter who cited irregularities. The constituency is currently in the hands of UDC’s Kgosi Lotlaamoreng who beat Molale by a 1 780 margin in 2014.