- War of words between MP Kwerepe and Nkate supporters
- MP Kwerepe in public spat with two of his councillors
- Kwerepe says councillors want to discredit him
SONNY SERITE
As politicians prepare for primary elections in their respective parties in preparation for the general elections next year, it was only a matter of time before accusations of underhand campaign tactics started to emerge.
Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Thato Kwerepe who is also Ngami MP is accused of using his ministerial position to campaign for the upcoming BDP primary elections where he is expected to face a tough challenge from former MP Jacob Nkate.
BDP members in the Ngami constituency sympathetic to Nkate have told this publication that Kwerepe is traversing the constituency under the guise of addressing Kgotla meetings while at the same time campaigning for primary elections. ‘‘We can see through his deceit because he is addressing these kgotla meetings in his capacity as assistant minister, using government resources and thereafter he addresses BDP members to solicit support for primary elections,’’ a councillor in the constituency said on Monday.
‘‘In his vote of thanks, the council secretary commended government for bringing developments such as electricity to the constituency. Just when everyone thought the council secretary would be the last speaker, Kwerepe stood up and bragged that people must remember that these developments came because of him,’’ one of the councillors who attended the meeting told this publication. Kwerepe was further accused of making a public announcement of the following words at the Kgotla: ‘‘May all BDP members stay behind and meet me by that tree because I want to announce to you that contrary to some reports from people who want to mislead you, I am standing for primary elections and I will be defending my seat.’’
Reached for comment yesterday, Kwerepe defended his utterances, saying he was forced to set the record straight after his detractors used the same Kgotla meeting to discredit him. He singled out BDP councillors Mmoedi Modiegi and Gaokgakala Letswee for trying to discredit him in the constituency. Kwerepe said he was forced to explain that as area MP, he plays a role in bringing developments to the constituency.
‘‘I had to explain this after Modiegi insinuated, at the same kgotla meeting, that developments would come any way with or without my input.’’ He said constituency developments are discussed at the kgotla and as such there is no how he can avoid talking about them at the kgotla more so when his detractors want to mislead the electorates. Although he did not mention Nkate by name, Councillor Modiegi did not hide the fact that he will be supporting a different candidate from Kwerepe during primary elections. ‘‘Of course we have our own candidate and it’s no secret’’, Modiegi said in an interview on Monday.