TSAONE SEGAETSHO
BMD Central Region Vice Chairperson Brigadier Iphemele Kgokgothwane has vowed to take action against any unauthentic delegate who wishes to grace the weekend’s National Congress to disrupt proceedings.
Kgokgothwane said this at a BMD regional press conference yesterday. This is after claims emerged that the Modubule/Mangole faction was holding a “private congress” at their homes in order to nominate parallel delegates for the Bobonong Congress which will be this weekend.
“No one will be allowed to get into the National Congress without an authentic letter. I can assure you. We are tired, we do not want to play anymore. We want the congress to come so that we can deal with these people,” Kgokgothwane said.
Fears are that the weekend’s national congress will turn into a violent riot given the extreme passions of the warring factions. Last year, Molepolole South Branch Women’s League chairperson Botshelo Makgatitswe opened a case of common assault against the Modubule/Mangole faction aligned Sidney Pilane. This year in May, Nehemiah Modubule who is the BMD chairperson and Secretary General Gilbert Mangole were allegedly assaulted by Kgokgothwane who is said to be the bodyguard of the allegedly expelled party president Ndaba Gaolatlhe.
The Modubule faction is understood to have sourced 50 dogs and security guards, with some fears being that the canines will be used to intimidate the Ndaba/Mmolotsi faction. Kgokgothwane, a former Botswana Defense Force Brigadier, however said warned that owners of the dogs should save them if they love them. He has a reputation of training and handling dangerous creatures which include serpents and dangerous animals.
Kgokgothwane recently caused a stir as he was seen carrying two snakes at a Ndaba/Mmolotsi camp meeting.
Playing down the possible confrontation between the two factions, Modubule said there would be no parallel delegates and that no dogs would be unleashed on anyone. “These are all lies…I hear those people(Ndaba/Mmolotsi) complaining in the media. They never come to the party to us,” he said.
Meanwhile, BMD regional chairpersons and their deputies vowed at a press conference in Gaborone yesterday that they were backing Gaolatlhe and Mmolotsi. However, the party’s Letswapo (Palapye) region is the only one understood to have parallel delegates.