The newly-reconciled Botswana Patriotic Front held its first National Executive Committee (NEC) last Thursday and only one member was absent for a genuine reason.
For the past several months, the BPF had split into rival factions that threatened the unity of the four-year old party. After smoking the peace pipe late last month, the party has returned to a semblance of its 2019 normalcy when its founder, former president Lieutenant General Ian Khama, was in full control. At the Thursday meeting (which Khama joined virtually from South Africa where he and his brothers, Tshekedi and Anthony, live in exile) there was a lot of cordiality and collegiality. Tshekedi, who is the Secretary General, also joined virtually. The meeting was chaired by Reverend Biggie Butale, who was recently reinstated as party president after a year’s suspension.
Khama, who was in his element, is said to have preached party unity and dispensed pearls of administrative wisdom gleaned during decades of holding executive positions: Deputy Botswana Defence Force Commander (1977-1988), BDF Commander (1988-1998), Vice President (1998-2008) and President (2018). All but one NEC member, Guma Moyo, attended the meeting. Moyo is said to have been out of town to attend to a family emergency.
Khama and Moyo are the leaders of the two BPF factions. For now, the factions are dormant but there is no absolute guarantee that will last long because an elective congress is just four months away – April 2023. Plans to hold an elective congress were the precise reason the factionalism reached its ugliest phase two months back. Ahead of a scheduled elective congress and upon determining that his side would lose, Khama threw a spanner in the works in a manner both literal and figurative.
Khama’s side was to field Tshekedi for the presidency but his opponent, Moyo, had gained control of the party and was obviously going to trounce Tshekedi. Moyo’s other advantage was that while the Khama brothers are currently living in South Africa, he is on the ground in Botswana and was thus able to campaign more effectively. Perhaps to avoid the humiliation of a Khama losing an election (that has never happened), former Palapye MP, Moiseraele Goya, was brought in as Tshekedi’s replacement. However, he too was soon controversially replaced with Butale who, at the time, was not a member in good standing. Party sources say that upon determining that like Tshekedi and Goya, Butale would also fare badly against Moyo, Khama thought of turning to the Jwaneng-Mabutsane MP, Mephato Reatile, as a last resort. He too would have lost.
Taking stock of the situation, Khama raised a slew of made-up complaints and initiated a parallel campaign to have the congress cancelled. He upped the ante by recruiting elected officials – in MPs and councillors – to echo his demands in separate letters that they wrote to the Acting President, Caroline Lesang. Not only did they threaten to withdraw financial support for the party, these officials actually did so when their demands were not immediately acceded to. Khama himself withdrew financial support and the cash crunch resulted in closure of the party office and non-payment of staff salaries.
However, both Khama and Moyo need each other: there is no BPF without Khama and as a non-Mongwato from the Tati East constituency, Moyo lends credibility to the BPF as a multi-ethnic, non-provincial party. Ultimately, the warring factions opened talks that were mediated by a man that the France Museveni Facebook page routinely refers to as “Spannere”: founding DIS DG and long-time Khama aide and confidant, Colonel Isaac Kgosi, a motor mechanic who was reportedly nicknamed Spannere in the BDF. Upon conclusion of the talks, Moyo’s faction strategically “caved in” to all the demands Khama had made. For now, the faction is lying low. A source says that it was Khama’s faction that took the lead at last Thursday’s meeting while Moyo’s went along with whatever the former said.
The peace in the party is more a result of tactical retreat than rapprochement. Much to Khama’s chagrin, Moyo’s faction retains control of the party, notably the NEC. If the situation remains unchanged, Moyo’s faction will once more be the favourite to win at the upcoming elective congress. In making full concession to each one of Khama’s demands, the faction was deploying another military strategy: scorched-earth policy. Khama’s ability to raise any complaint in future about outstanding issues that might jeopardise a free and fair election has been desperately compromised. That would be the equivalent of burning or destroying crops or other resources that might be of use to an invading enemy force. Resultantly, Khama’s faction will be hard put to raise any complaints when April rolls around and all the evidence suggests resounding victory by Moyo’s faction. Upon belief that April will bring good news, this faction is quite happy to go along with what Khama’s wants but is careful and staying vigilant enough to preserve its advantage.
Then again, four months is a long period for anything to happen. Khama’s faction can set about consolidating electoral support in order to better its chances of winning. If that involves purging the party and NEC of members of the Moyo faction, the party would certainly go back to where it was three months ago and a split would be likelier than ever before.
For now, it is unclear where the congress will be held. One that was cancelled was supposed to have been held in Moyo’s constituency – which was something Khama’s faction had agreed to but did an about-turn when it had to throw any and everything at the wall to see what would stick. For the April congress and to use language that most (especially tenderpreneurs) can relate to, the NEC will essentially float a tender and invite regions to put in bids. That Moyo’s faction dominates the adjudicating body (NEC) portends trouble farther down the road.
Even as faction members leisurely exchange the peace pipe across still-visible battle lines, it will not be easy to wish some ticklish issues away. Butale, who has always been seen as some kind of regent for Tshekedi, is back in the presidency at Khama’s behest. If he gets ambitious enough to want to get out of Khama’s orbit, that could cost him the presidency. Khama exerts power on account of being a patron, a position not provided for in the constitution. When the factions were still feuding, Moyo’s faction expressed disquiet about Khama’s exercise of undue influence on account of a position that was only supposed to be ceremonial and is not provided for in the constitution. Khama the patron is back to wielding unconstitutional influence and it is just a matter of time before some starts complaining.
