- BCP activists and candidate in BDP voters roll
- Kgathi says BCP members voted for his opponent
- He wants BDP to take action against Khama for endorsing Kgoboko
SONNY SERITE
Disgruntled Member of Parliament for Bobonong Shaw Kgathi has submitted, to the BDP central committee, a list of 221 names of people he claims are opposition members who voted at both the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the BDP primary elections.
In annexure 2 of his supplementary grounds of appeal to the central committee on the conduct of the 25th August primary elections in his constituency, Kgathi complains of voter trafficking and the use of non-bona fide BDP members. He noted that while the party regulations state that voters shall be registered members in good standing, ‘‘it shall be recalled that over two thousand (2000) names particularly members of the Botswana Congress Party card carrying members (sic) whom we have proved that they had participated in their June 2018 primary elections were facilitated to be registered in the BDP’s voter’s roll overnight prior to the closing or cut-off date of 28 June 2018 under the instruction of the BDP Secretariat and such instruction was executed by then PEEC deployee Mr Jojo Lucas.” Kgathi alleges that contrary to the BDP procedure that membership registration books have to be procured and signed for by the Branch Secretary, in this case forty (40) registration books were delivered to Lucas by courier.
‘‘As a result, many active BCP members, who voted in their June 2018 primary elections, also had the opportunity to vote in the BDP primary elections. Annexure 2 below shows a list of names of these members,” Kgathi wrote in his appeal. One of the names that stands out from the list provided by Kgathi is that of Samuel Moribame. Kgathi claims that the records in his possession show that Moribame was registered as having joined the BDP on 17th July 2018. This publication did a quick check with BCP parliamentary candidate in Bobonong Taolo Lucas who confirmed that Moribame who was at some point BCP’s Chairperson of the Francistown region has long been deceased. The ID number of the Moribame in Kgathi’s appeal is 709317912. Another intriguing name of people alleged to have participated in the BDP primary elections is Mosalagae Simon whom Kgathi claims is a BCP Council candidate. Simon was allegedly registered on 22 February 2017.
Kgathi claims in his papers that 511 members from Dandane/Mabeleng and Rasetimela wards were illegally registered to join the party on a date after the cut-off date for registration of new members.
The Bobonong legislator stated that on 13 August 2018 he wrote a letter to the Central Committee demonstrating how Kgoboko’s conduct prior to the primary elections contravened the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Candidates in the BDP primary elections. ‘‘In the same letter I had raised my objection to statements made by the former President Lieutenant General Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama, who had scathing attacks on me insinuating amongst other things, that I was unfit to hold the position of Member of Parliament and that my constituents must look elsewhere for a member of parliament, therefore directly endorsing the only other contestant Mr Kgoboko’’, he complained.
Kgathi warned the party that if it allows such irregularities to go unattended, voters may lose confidence in the party and that in turn might promote voter apathy.