The three ruling Members of Parliament summoned before a sub-committee of the party Central Committee have told the party that they now fear for their lives and the welfare of their businesses.
This is after President Festus Mogae intensified his onslaught on the MPs in a widely publicized interview with a number of state owned media outlets.
The blacklisted MPs appeared before party Secretary General Daniel Kwelagobe and party National Treasurer Satar Dada at Dada’s luxury holiday home behind Gaborone Dam recently.
The three MPs are Boyce Sebetela of Palapye, Duke Lefhoko of Shoshong and Keletso Rakhudu of Gaborone.
At the same meeting Kwelagobe assured them that there is no plot against them, their families or their businesses by the government.
The three have been advised to soften their attacks on the government and the State President. They were also promised that they could meet Mogae on any issue they felt strongly about.
The three told the sub committee that the level of public abuse leveled against them could send wrong signals and lead zealots into believing that government had effectively sanctioned an onslaught against themselves and their interests.
Although the party administrative chief Batlang Serema says the three were called before the sub committee to award them a chance to an opportunity their sympathizers says the party is craftily preparing a dossier against them to be used as a disciplinary action for having been able to assert the independence of the legislature from the executive.
It is also not clear in what capacity they appeared before party sub-committee.
Lefhoko is the Chairman of the parliamentary backbench while Keletso is the Secretary.
Relations between the backbench and the front bench have recently soured as sparring between the two arms in parliament openly intensified.
At the height of the standoff ruling backbenches went as far as not only to table motions offensive to government but have also turned down and in some cases questioned and deferred policy documents brought before parliament for adoption by ministers, practices that are new in the BDP way of doing things.
This had not gone down well with government which instead feels MPs are out to humiliate and embarrass them.
Annoyed by the tactics employed of the backbenches, President went public and said they were trying to blackmail him and his government into increasing their salaries by using underhand tactics.
In separate interviews, Lefhoko and Rakhudu hit back at Mogae, just falling short of calling the Preside a liar.
It was then that the state machinery went full swing, with Mogae appearing before a stage managed interview with the state owned media to compare the MPs with “un-castrated young goats.”
Serema said no action will be taken against the MPs.
He said Kwelagobe has told the Mps that they are free to meet President Mogae if they feel disgruntled.