- Says it is a bygone chapter
GAZETTE REPORTER
The president of the Botswana People’s Party (BPP), Motlatsi Molapise, is at the centre of accusations of misappropriation of party funds involving P100 000 that was donated to the party ahead of the 2014 general elections and rental money for a leased party property, The Botswana Gazette has established.
Sources say the money was received by Molapise but it never reached the party’s bank account and has not been accounted for. “Molapise is always full of anger when confronted about this money,” said a member of the BPP central committee who asked for anonymity. “Anyone who questions him about this money is either suspended or is hauled to a disciplinary hearing.”
The party’s former vice president, Joseph Mogatle, has corroborated these allegations. According to Mogatle, Molapise has failed to account for the money and does not take kindly to being asked about it. The treasurer of the party at the time the money was donated, Tonkomani Dan, allegedly knew about the donation but has remained silent allegedly in accordance with instructions from Molapise. The recent expulsion of certain party members should be seen in this light, Mogatle said.
“Molapise controls and dictates what happens in the BPP,” he asserted. “That is why he received this P100 000 but never bothered to account for it. He is holding the party to ransom because anyone who raises a voice about the money is expelled. I and the party’s Secretary General, Venta Galetshabiwe, have been expelled from the party because we initiated the call for Molapise to account. But officially we were expelled for inciting disobedience of the president.”
In addition to misappropriation of funds, Mogatle accused Molapise of mismanagement of party property, saying he uses a leased party plot for his own benefit. “The BPP has a leased business plot but no one knows what happens to the rental money except Molapise,” he alleged. “The monthly rental money is controlled by Molapise although there is a treasurer.”
Upon being contacted, Molapise gave short thrift to questions from The Botswana Gazette. “I cannot talk about something that happened in 2014 because it is a closed chapter,” he said. “If there was any donation of that sort, maybe it was used for its purpose. Otherwise, I cannot waste time talking about what long passed.”
Efforts to contact the party’s treasurer at the time the donations were made, Tonkomani Dan, proved futile because he did not take calls from this publication after earlier promising that he would.