- Kgosi wants BPF back in the UDC
- Khama, Reatile want BPF going at it alone
- Kgosi courting UDC for a BPF return
- Boko says BPF is welcome only under UDC banner
GAZETTE REPORTER
Former president Ian Khama and former spy chief Isaac Kgosi are reported to be at variance on the decision that saw the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) quit the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
Infact, Kgosi has decided to go against his former master’s wishes and has begun the process of trying to bring the two opposition entities back together.
Sources close to these developments say a good number of BPF supporters are unhappy with the decision to leave the UDC just a few months before the general elections in October.
Pact model
Following completion of opposition unity talks in January, the BPF was expected to go to the elections under the UDC banner.
Last month, led by its president Mephato Reatile, the BPF announced that it had abandoned the initially agreed model and wanted to renegotiate a pact model with the UDC.
“It was mostly Khama, Reatile and Carter Morupisi who were behind this decision,” said a source. “It is a huge blow for us as a party and the UDC. It is going to affect our prospects in the general elections.”
Reconsider
It is understood that Kgosi was approached by some members of the party to try and engage Khama and Reatile to reconsider the decision.
Last week, a team led by Kgosi requested a meeting with UDC president Duma Boko in an attempt to mediate.
While the meeting was expected to take place in the weekend that followed, The Botswana Gazette is informed that it did not after Boko told the BPF delegation that he was unavailable and asked for another date.
UDC banner
Meanwhile, at a press briefing in Palapye last month, Boko said the UDC will not be negotiating any pact model with the BPF.
He stated that if the BPF still had any intentions of working with the UDC ahead of the 2024 general elections, it should understand that it would be under UDC banner and nothing else.
The Botswana Gazette is informed that some BPF members are considering quitting the party for the UDC.