Several famous individuals and organizations may be celebrating their birthdays this month of October. They include Kevin Richardson, American singer and a member of Backstreet Boys, Eddie Cochran American rock and roll pioneer, India Arie, American singer, song writer, guitarist and a flautist, British actor, Clive Owen as well as Swedish football star, Slatan Ibrahimovic. All these celebrities were born on October 3rd, according to Google.
In Botswana, October 3rd is the Botswana National Front (BNF) birthday. This is the purpose of this article. It is to recall some of the major events which have taken place within the party and see the state of the previously viable party. I do not need the help of Google to piece the material in my possession together. I am in possession of a file labeled “Bechuanaland Protectorate File’ with documents emanating from the discussions which led to the formation of the BNF. It was given to me way back in 1990 by Kgosi Linchwe to keep it as a souvenir. I relied heavily on that file. It may be of great interest for the reader to explain how Kgosi Linchwe got possession of the file. The BNF was formed following discussion whose aim was o unite opposition parties who were then in disarray. There were two Botswana Peoples Parties, one led by Kgalemang Motsete and the other by Phillip Matante following a split in Lobatse. The other party was the Botswana Independence Party (BIP) which refused to take part in the discussions because the leader, Motsamai Mpho had wanted to know first who the leader of the new party would be. Kgosi Linchwe was the convener and chairperson of the discussions, hence he was well equipped with discussion materials.
Besides that, there was a man called Henderson Moatlhodi Tlhoiwe from Ramotswa but came to settle permanently in Mochudi where he teamed up with the village Kgosi to establish Linchwe II Secondary School in 1968. He became Kgosi Linchwe’s travelling companion. He was strong and quick thinking, kind and assessable. He was educated in Czechoslovakia where he emerged with degree in political economics. His stay in the Eastern Block earned him a banning order from South Africa, Rhodesia and Namibia instead of a degree qualification. I have had the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with him Therefore, the BNF was launched on 3rd October 1965in Mochudi. For no apparent reasons, Mochudi seems to have been an attractive home for political party launches. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was expelled by the Kgosi from the village after the members had assembled for the launch. Then came the successful BNF launch. The BCP was also launched in Mochudi. The Bechuanaland Convention was launched in Mochudi but collapsed within days when members retraced their loyalty to the new BNF.
The BNF quietly turned 57at the beginning of this month, on 3rd October to be precise. Besides the file from Kgosi Linchwe, I benefited a lot from having had the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with high profile past leaders of the BNF during their lifetime. Such personalities include Henderson Tlhoiwe himself. He was the first BNF Secretary-General and former member of the Super League Football Committee. He used to tell me stories about the BNF. Following his return to the country, he helped several Batswana students to secure admission at European universities. So Tlhoiwe was like Dr. Koma an important figure in the BNF executive. Two years after the launch of their party, he and Dr. Koma, Klass Motshidisi, Obonetse Menyatso and another got into troubles with the law. They had published an offensive article in the party’s newsletter called Puopha. Tlhoiwe was accused number one while Koma was accused number two then the rest followed. The case was heard in Mahalapye. They engaged a Cape Town based lawyer called George Lawrance who had written books on South African criminal law. The charge was sedition.
In the morning of their court appearance, they conducted a mock trial at Chase me Inn Hotel during which their lawyer assured them of a discharge and acquittal verdict explaining that the way the charge sheet had been formulated would make it easy for him to apply for acquittal. At the opening of the trial, he argued that the way the charge sheet had been drawn, was clear that the state was not sure of the crime his clients had committed because it was loaded with the word “or”. He said that alone was clear that the state was guessing. It was not sure of the crime allegedly committed. He was said to have argued vigorously for the acquitted of his clients. The case collapsed at its earliest stage and was never returned to court. It was resolved outside court at Ruretse in Gaborone during negotiations between the BNF and the ruling party. The reader will forgive me for having dwelt too much on Tlhoiwe than on the BNF.
It is because Tlhoiwe had been an important figure in the BNF hierarchy and yet he was little recognized. He was one of the very few who was not interested in self aggrandizement. Now, I am moving away from Tlhoiwe. The way things are, is that if Botswana celebrates her birthday on a Friday, the BNF’s follows on a Monday, a difference of two days. However, the BNF’s birth day past unnoticed by many. The current party leadership did not even issue a statement reminding the nation of that important day. The reason for not doing that is simple to detect. There is no joy in the BNF camp, hence there is no pomp to mark its birthday. The day passed like an ordinary one. It is as if the day forms no part in the history of the party. Normally this would be the day to celebrate. Even if there is no major event being organized, it should not be a day which comes and passes unnoticed by the rank and file members of the party. At least a statement should be made in recognition of this day. May be I am too fast something is being yet to come. But that would be belated. There may be some sort of confusion in the minds of the BNF rank and file including the leadership regarding the date when the BNF was established.
On 6th October 1965, Henderson Tlhoiwe wrote an apologetic letter to Kgosi Linchwe from Ramotswa informing him that the party was launched on October 3rd despite the Kgosi’s request that the launch be postponed because he would be out of the village. In Ray Molomo’s book, “Democratic Deficit in the Parliament of Botswana” it is mistakenly stated that the BNF was launched on October 10, 1966. Ray Molomo was elected the first president of the party in absentia at that launch which took place in Mochudi. I brought that error to the attention of the author. Initially he was adamant that his version was correct arguing that he would not make such a mistake when he was elected the first president of the party. After reading Tlhoiwe’s letter, he changed tune and admitted his was wrong. The formation of the party was Dr. Kenneth Koma’s idea. He had just returned to the country from Europe where he had obtained a law degree at the University of Nottingham in England, another degree in political science from Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia and doctoral degree in political economy at the Africa Institute, Academy of Sciences of Moscow in Russia.
It appears Dr. Koma was unimpressed by the political situation in the country upon his return. He started writing documents about the need to establish a new social order to replace what he termed “feudalism” and “capitalist monopoly”. He said for as long as those two existed, independence would be “a mere fiction” He raised the idea of a new social order with Ray Molomo who he met in Serowe. It seems the two men’s field of experience over-lapped and therefore wasted no time in agreeing for the need to found a political party with that ideology. Ray Molomo had returned to the country from Canada where he had been studying educational psychology a year earlier. The BNF came out with an important policy decisions at the launch. According to Tlhoiwe, it was not to contest the elections which would follow in 1969. It was to use the eight or so years following its launch to embark on political education because Batswana were still uninformed on the dynamics of the electoral system.
In other words the BNF was to start contesting in 1974. But that did not work because of impatience and the greed of some of its members who thought they stood a good chance of securing jobs if they contested earlier than stipulated. From there, the party lost every election on offer and on each occasion claimed rigging as the reasons for their loss. They claimed that they lost because the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) used a substance which changed the colour of their voting disc from black to red. To prevent that from ever recurring, they changed to a disc with a hole because the substance could change the colour but not the hole. That did not help as well. They then came up with the suggestion for the creation of the independent election commission and the changing of voting age to 18years of age claiming that they had the support from the youth. That did not help either. However, the BNF of nowadays is neither a hopeful nor a pleasant one.
Despite suffering the biggest split in the late 1990s due to the formation of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), there are those who think it is worst than those days. Rightly or wrongly, they blame the current decline of the party on its leader, Duma Boko whom they say he is a charlatan meaning that he is a person who pretends to have more skill, knowledge, or ability than he really has or a flamboyant deceiver if you like. Boko is the leader of both the BNF and Umbrella for Democratic Chance. The two are as close to each other as the faces of the same coin. He runs the show as an influential figure. BNF is contracting partner of the UDC. Other partners are the People’s Party (BPP), BCP, and the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). However, the BCP’s membership is shaky.
They are almost out of the coalition. Under Boko’s leadership, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) were expelled. At the BNF it is not raining but pouring. Already a new party is said to have been registered under the name Botswana Labour Party. Those behind the new party are said to be the members of the “Bucs Team” who lost all positions to the Duma Boko’s team at the recent BNF elective congress.
