BPP president faces vote of no confidence

The move to oust Motlatsi Molapise and Secretary General Mathodi Modisapodi follows a 45-day suspension of the party’s parliamentary candidates for Francistown West and Tati East

SESUPO RANTSIMAKO

FRANCISTOWN: The President of the Botswana People’s Party (BPP) and its Secretary General are facing revolt from other members of the party’s central committee who are reportedly planning to topple the two by means of motions of no confidence.

This comes against the background of suspensions of the party’s parliamentary candidate for Francistown West Mbaakanyi Lenyatso and Tati-East Mathodi Modisapodi for 45 days last week. In announcing the suspensions, the party said they affected both the memberships and candidacies of the two men, which meant they must keep off the campaign trail with only three months to the elections in October.

However, the rest of their colleagues on the central committee are reportedly plotting to turn the tables on BPP president Motlatsi Molapise and the party’s secretary general Venta Galetshabiwe, who now stand accused of being divisive, making decisions without consulting others, and holding the party to ransom.

As a matter of fact, reports are that the two have already escaped being sacked, at least from their powerful positions, by the skin of their teeth. But their colleagues are intent on tightening the noose to ensure they do not escape next time. “A meeting was called to address the suspensions of the parliamentary candidates but tempers flew and the meeting was abandoned before a planned motion of no confidence could be tabled,” an insider told the Botswana gazette this week. “That is how they escaped. The hope is that they will be toppled at the next meeting that is being planned.”

Molapise declined when approached for comment while Galetshabiwe said he dared anyone who wanted to topple them to go on and do so. He added that if the suspended candidates were responsible for the alleged motions of no confidence, they should also be ashamed of themselves because they were suspended for allegedly seeking to destroy the BPP by campaigning for other parties in the few wards allocated to it by the UDC opposition alliance.

“We cannot let self-centered people destroy our party,” Galetshabiwe said. “We should have replaced them as candidates because unlike them, we are looking at a broader picture for the party. We do not want narrow-minded people who want to destroy our party.”