Former BDP president Kgosi Khama IV has denied receiving an invitation to the party’s upcoming retreat in Palapye, contradicting claims by party Secretary General Kentse Rammidi
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
Former Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) president Kgosi Khama IV has strongly denied reports from his former party that he received an invitation to the BDP retreat set for later this month in Palapye, saying he is unaware of any such notice.
KHAMA REJECTS INVITATION CLAIMS
Responding to enquiries from The Botswana Gazette following assertions by the BDP that all former party presidents had been invited, Khama, now a Kgosi, said he never received any communication regarding the retreat. His statement directly contradicts claims by party leadership that he had been formally notified.
The BDP is expected to host a retreat in Palapye later this month and has maintained that all former party presidents were invited, including Khama, who left active politics in 2025 to assume bogosi in Serowe. Khama exited the BDP in 2013 after a protracted fallout with party leadership. He later formed the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) before withdrawing from partisan politics altogether.
BDP CITES TRADITIONAL PROTOCOL
BDP secretary general Kentse Rammidi said Khama was invited in his capacity as Paramount Chief of the Bangwato, explaining that the party was merely notifying him of an event taking place within his area of jurisdiction.
“We formally informed him that we will be holding a retreat within his jurisdiction, so he is welcome to attend or, if he prefers, to send a representative,” Rammidi said.
When questioned why Khama would be invited as a kgosi when Palapye has its own traditional leader, Rammidi argued that the Palapye kgosi falls under Khama’s authority as Paramount Chief of the Bangwato, making the notification appropriate.
FUTURE ENGAGEMENT
Rammidi further suggested that the party intends to engage Khama not only as a traditional leader but also in recognition of his former political role.
“Nothing erases the position he once held in the party, even if he quit active politics,” he said.
KHAMA’S INFLUENCE
Critics accuse the BDP of attempting to leverage Khama’s influence to regain ground in the Bangwato area, where the party’s dominance waned following the emergence of the BPF, a claim the party has strongly denied.