When rumours first made the rounds, hinting that the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) may thwart Elijah Katse’s ambitions to become a lawmaker, I laughed off the rumor. A friend within BDP circles had whispered to me that the party leadership is divided on his candidature, with some fighting tooth and nail to ensure Katse doesn’t represent the party in the coming general elections.
At the time, I asked this good friend of mine if he had started taking drugs for I could not imagine such insinuations from a sober person. I told him there was no way the BDP could be so cruel to a loyal party member such as Katse. In fact, my exact words were that the BDP leadership cannot be that stupid. I was as such stunned and left mouth agape when it was recently confirmed that the BDP has since recalled Katse and already communicated to him that they prefer Olebile Gaborone, the man he vanquished in the primary elections. The party went further to instruct Katse to support and rally behind Gaborone. Clearly, BDP e twaela Katse.
I remember the response I got from my friend when I asked him to give reasons that may lead to the BDP sticking out the middle finger at Katse. He said in the BDP reasons are not always necessarily needed to kick somebody out. He said the BDP can frustrate you, just for the fun of it. He said the BDP can punish you “just for bo ntsa”. Yes, he said the BDP, just like a dog, doesn’t need to have any reasons for some of its actions. Look, I know the BDP, especially in the era of Ian Khama, has become popular for its unpopular decisions. The BDP under Khama has become notorious for its selective justice and discipline. The current BDP is known for destroying its members’ political careers. However, and with all that knowledge, nothing could have prepared me for the heartlessness meted out on Katse by the BDP leadership. Katse comes a long way with the BDP. He has been with the BDP through thick and thin. He remained loyal to the BDP even when the party frustrated and ill-treated him in the past. Katse was among those BDP members who suffered at the hands of the party leadership in the past but when his colleagues couldn’t stomach it any longer and bolted out to form the BDP splinter party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy, he remained behind and kept the fire burning. His allegiance to the party was never shaken by the sneers he got from the party leadership. When the party leadership openly showed their disdain for him, he swallowed the hurt, buried the hatchet and remained loyal to the party.
It is therefore disheartening to see his loyalty being rewarded with a ‘fuck off’ by the BDP. It is sad to see someone who has spent so much of his personal resources building the BDP in Tlokweng being sidelined in favor of someone like Gaborone. While talking of Gaborone, it is important to point out that he plays an insignificant role in Katse’s woes. Gaborone may not embrace or even adore Katse soley because he is a threat to his political fortunes and that shouldn’t be a problem because really, Gaborone has no powers outside winning the primary elections to sort Katse out. Katse bigger problems are that he is not embraced and liked by people in the higher echelons of power in the BDP and it’s sad because unlike Gaborone, they have powers to sort Katse out without using primary elections.
I remember back in 2011 when it was fashionable for BDP members to join the BMD and newspapers were busy reporting that Katse was following in on the fashion. At the time Katse made no secret about his displeasure over the ill-treatment he was getting from the party leadership. Katse even made it clear that he did not blame Gaborone for the ill-treatment but the party leadership because they were the ones allowing him to undermine him as the Branch chairman. For BDP to ‘toilet’ on Katse really speaks volumes about their foresight. This is a man who lost to Gaborone by a slim margin of 17 votes in the last general elections when Gaborone was still speaking evil of the BDP and Katse was singing praises for the BDP. It’s incredibly shocking how soon the BDP has forgotten that Gaborone is where he is not because he is popular with BDP voters in the constituency.
Gaborone has never won any elections under the BDP, either at general elections or primary elections and the BDP chooses to dump Katse who has proved to be the preferred choice in Tlokweng, at least among BDP members. While it is very difficult to sympathize or even empathize with people who find themselves at the receiving end of BDP’ leadership, my heart really goes out to Katse because for many years I have seen him sweating and toiling in the Tlokweng constituency and never lost hope, determination and dedication in the midst of his perennial losses. I wait to see how Katse is going to handle this clear rejection from the BDP leadership and I hope he won’t just fold his hands, conform and give up without a fight. Should he yet again let the BDP leadership trample upon his ambitions without taking them to task, he can rest assured he will forever be their door mat.
