- Says his “business engagements” do not permit politics
- The political maverick is not saying how long his break will be
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
Contrary to his anticipated political comeback, former cabinet minister Samson Guma Moyo says he has taken a break from active politics and will no longer be seeking candidacy anywhere.
The former MP for Tati East was expected to run under an opposition ticket but Moyo this week announced taking a break from active politics due to business engagements.
“I will not be active in politics for now,” he said in an interview. “The assignment I am engaged in does not permit me to be in active politics, hence I have a taken a break from politics and will not be running in the coming general elections.”
Unauthorised
Quite a maverick, Moyo – who is not saying how long his break will be – was expelled from the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) towards the 2019 general elections after he allegedly organised an unauthorised party meeting in Serowe.
He was also accused of attacking the leadership style of President Mokgweetsi Masisi. He subsequently relocated to South Africa where he claimed he had left Botswana because his life was in danger.
However, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS) linked Moyo’s flight to South Africa to tax investigations involving himself personally and a controversial oil company that he owned.
Tati East
Moyo later returned to Botswana and joined the opposition Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) where he eventually resigned over disagreements with the patron of the party, Ian Khama.
He subsequently announced that he had joined the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) with an eye on wrestling the BDP from Tati East in elections due later this year.
But Moyo never stated whether he was joining the UDC directly as an individual or through being a member of an affiliate party, which are the two available options coalition.
The UDC has allocated Tati East to the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) where two parliamentary hopefuls are expected to log horns in primary elections to determine the candidate.