- Said to have ditched DK, Magang, Balopi as advisers
- Elders alleged to have once asked Masisi’s elder brother to intervene
- Masisi has not met with elders since 2019
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
President Mokgweetsi Masisi is reported to have dropped Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) elders Patrick Balopi, David Magang and Daniel Kwelagobe as his advisers.
The Botswana Gazette is informed that the trio, who previously formed part of the BDP National Council of Elders, have been left out of consultations with President Masisi or any advisory role for him.
It is actually said the President has resisted all attempts by the elders to engage him on the state of the party and national affairs.
Not available
“The elders have tried to reach out to the President with advice on a number of issues but they have always been told that he is not available,” said a party source who cannot be named.
“The dispute between him and Khama has been one of the issues that they believe could have been handled a lot differently but at some point both men would not take any advice from the elders.”
News of the axing of the three comes after President Masisi told a press conference only last month that DK, Balopi and Magang were part of a delegation he had appointed to broker peace between himself and Khama.
The Botswana Gazette is also informed that the elders have even gone as far as approaching President Masisi’s older brother, Thulaganyo, to help them gain access to the President but to no avail. It is understood that Masisi last engaged with the elders prior to the 2019 general elections.
Expired
Magang has told this publication that he does not recall the last time he was invited to a Council of Elders meeting with Masisi.
Balopi referred the matter to the party’s Secretary General, saying their tenure as members of the Council of Elders expired after the BDP congress in Tsabong while DK’s phone rang unanswered yesterday (Tuesday).
For his part, the Secretary General of the BDP, Kavis Kario, said the party was in the process of appointing new members to the council. “We have not appointed new members,” he said.
“Consultations are ongoing and we expect appointments to be made soon. The party can decide to deploy members to any structure it deems fit for them to serve in.”