Youthful Botswana National Front activist, Thuso Mogorosi, who is against lawyer Duma Boko’s candidature for the BNF’s top post, has stated that if Boko is allowed to run for the party presidency, the party congress scheduled for this month will turn violent.
Mogorosi, along with Sekgopi Bogatsu, Moses Kajanr and Chalido Madome, have dragged the BNF and Boko before the Francistown High Court and contend that Boko is not eligible to run for the party’s presidency.
In the filed court papers, Mogosi is demanding that Boko be barred from contesting the elections. He further wants the court to make a finding that Boko’s membership card was improperly obtained.
Mogorosi says that if the controversy surrounding Boko’s candidature for the BNF presidential race is not resolved urgently “there will be violence and shedding of human blood at the congress”.
The case, which was filed on Friday, is before Judge Moses Chinhengo.
The BNF is cited as the first respondent while Boko is cited as second respondent. Both the BNF and Boko are opposed to the suit.
The applicants state that they fear for their lives as there will be part of the party’s delegates at the party’s forth coming congress.
Mogosi says that Boko should not be allowed to run because he joined the BNF recently and is a founding member of the New Democratic Front (NDF).
Mogorosi states in the court papers that the BNF central committee has never given reasons as to why it had rescinded its earlier decision and allowed Boko to stand.
Initially, the BNF had barred Boko from contesting the party’s central committee elections.
According to Mogorosi, Boko’s candidature has caused great divisions within the BNF.
“This issue has created a very volatile and highly combustible situation affecting the stability of the 1st respondent,” states Mogorosi.
“Unresolved and more scaring is a likelihood of the congress degenerating into violence if this issue is not resolved urgently,” he adds in the filed court papers.
The case is scheduled for hearing this week.
Last week on Friday, the High Court ordered Lone Masire, representing the applicants, to show cause why the issue should be treated as an urgent application.
The applicants contend that Boko’s membership is fake because his membership number belongs to a deceased former BNF member, Freddy Goepamang.
Some of the issues raised by the applicants are that Boko never showed any interest in the party because he has never been actively involved in any of its activities. Mogorosi says that Boko never formally joined the BNF because he has never resigned from NDF.
They also take issue with him for not appearing on the party’s membership records and state that he is not eligible to be voted as BNF leader because he has never registered to vote in his life.
