When Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) women converged in Maun for their elective congress yesterday (Saturday) the weekend was supposed to be all about Sisiboy.
Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana’s heir apparent was the guest speaker at the congress and had been for a while, anxiously preparing for “his moment” on stage, when he would present his latest catch, UDC councilor for Boikaego-Madiba in Palapye Mock Ntau to a cheering audience.
Masisi is a highly political animal forever calculating how to wrong foot his opponents and with one eye permanently on the presidency. With the right fancy footwork, the man of the moment knew he could seduce the BDP women who had thronged Maun to give him a helping hand up the presidency greasy pole.
The BDP Women’s Congress comes a few weeks after the party lost the Palapye and Tsabong wards to opposition, dampening the mood in the ruling party. An Ntau garbed in red with his right hand clenched into a fist seemed the perfect cure for the gloom and doom in Maun.
A different Masisi however showed up at the podium to open the women’s congress. “The man of the moment” was all somber face and heavy heart after he was stood up by the UDC councilor at Maun airport on Friday. Ntau spurned Masisi’s advances at the eleventh hour ruining the Vice president’s best laid plans.
Masisi’s presidential campaign has been a rollercoaster of soaring peaks and alarming troughs. Lately, the dips are becoming the norm, and all the BDP structures seem to be closing ranks around Nonofo Molefhi, his challenger for the presidency of Botswana.
A few weeks ago, Masisi lost control of the party youth wing to Molefhi. While Masisi’s camp retained the chairmanship of the party youth wing, Molefhi’s faction won all the other Central Committee positions.
In what is turning out to be an unbroken run of setbacks, Masisi last week lost control of two of the party’s most powerful regions ÔÇô Gaborone Region and Francistown Region ÔÇô to Molefhi.
While Masisi’s star seems to be waning, Molefhi is emerging as a powerful force in the race for Botswana’s presidency. The BDP has a total of fourteen regions countrywide that make up the deciding block in the Electoral College for the party leadership. About ten have already gone through their regional congresses and are ready for the July Congress where Masisi and Molefhi will slug it out for the party chairmanship. Molefhi is believed to have won seven of the regions while Masisi has a paltry three behind him.
Hardly a week after the shock defeat in Gaborone and Francistown, Camp Sisiboy is unraveling. Masisi on Friday found himself without a Secretary General on his lobby list after he fell out with party strongman and veteran Jacob Nkate. Dissuading Nkate from contesting for the party chairmanship and winning him over to his side was a major coup for Masisi and a boost to his gravitas. The divorce between two of the most powerful men in the BDP is expected to send shock waves inside Camp Sisiboy and confirm speculations of a crisis in the faction.
Nkate received a telephone call Friday morning informing him of the break up. On the other end of the line was former BDP Secretary General and staunch Masisi supporter, Mpho Balopi who relayed the message that Masisi had decided to cut Nkate loose.
Nkate confirmed the phone call but would not discuss details, saying, “Why don’t you ask them? Talk to them. I also heard about that,” he said in reference to the allegations.
The break up between Nkate and Masisi comes a few weeks after BDP deputy treasurer; Jagdish Shah ditched Camp Sisiboy following disagreements over the camps lobby-list for the July Congress. It is understood that in luring Balopi to his faction, Masisi asked Shah not to defend the deputy Treasurer position, a move that drove Shah away from the camp. This was not helped by the alleged bad blood between Shah and party treasurer, Satar Dada who is also in Masisi’s faction.
With Molefhi snapping at his heels, Masisi would have to retain control of the party central committee and win the party women’s wing central committee to stay slightly ahead in the race for the presidency.
So far, early indications are that barring a major upset, Masisi will lose the women’s central committee today (Sunday). BDP women’s wing Chairperson, Dorcus Makgatho ÔÇô Malesu was unopposed for the position and was expected to share the podium with most women on her lobby list after the results are announced. The outcome, which most believe is highly likely would be a nightmare come true for Masisi who seems to be on slippery ground. Makgatho-Malesu is in Molefhi’s camp.
Molefhi is also expected to have the backing of President Khama’s brother Tshekedi and his supporters, following reports that he has decided to stand down from the chairmanship contest. While President Khama was toying around with the idea of dropping Masisi from the vice presidency and replacing him with Molefhi, Tshekedi was among vocal Cabinet Ministers who supported Masisi’s ouster. Tshekedi knows that Masisi is aiming for his scalp.
Tshekedi and Masisi’s rivalry runs deep and is reported to have branched off into a spy war and arms race as the two men create militias to back them. While Masisi has the support of the Directorate of intelligence and Security services (DISS) Tshekedi has set up an intelligence wing under his ministry and a heavily armed militia. The president’s brother was also part of the president’s close circle that lobbied for the expulsion of Isaac Kgosi following demining allegations of corruption at the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services.
Tshekedi, however unlike Masisi and Molefhi does not have the support of most BDP back benchers and councillors who are a very influential constituency in the party electoral college.
The race for the Botswana presidency is believed to be entering a landscape that has been sculpted by political influence in the party instead of the influence among Khama’s close circle of friends.
Masisi is believed to be losing his foothold on the former and while most believe there is likely to be a major upset after the party congress in July, it has been a long time since the BDP politics of succession has been dictated by the will of the party rank and file.
Party insiders believe that should Masisi lose the party chairmanship, this would force Khama’s hand to drop him as next in line for the presidency.
