Botswana National Front president, Otsweletse Moupo, has once again survived attempts by some of the members of his Central Committee to axe him.
But indications are that the Central Committee is heavily divided.
At a meeting held Friday night, Moupo turned down calls to resign, instead he offered to take a six week leave to resolve his problems.
It has also emerged that the Law Society of Botswana has not been entirely clean in its handling of the Moupo case.
This week, the Law Society leaked information to the media about Moupo’s firm being under curatorship.
This is despite the fact that no papers had been filed with the Registrar of the High Court.
Sunday Standard can confirm that, when it was reported that Moupo’s law firm would be under curatorship, the Registrar had received no such correspondence.
“Their motives have thus far been suspect,” said one BNF Central Committee member who supports Moupo.
One BNF member, who attended the meeting, said there were vocal calls largely by the university lecturers for Moupo to leave saying they have lost faith in him.
As a sign that he is finally becoming his own man, Moupo is said to have told them point blank that he can no longer run a big organisation such as the BNF by just the opinion of just three or four people.
He said, because they felt that his problems were hurting the party image, he would take leave and resume his party duties on October 18.
During that time, Moupo will not sit in any of the party structures.
His deputy, Kathleen Letshabo will act.
He will, however, remain official leader of opposition in parliament with all the perks and protocol that go with the position.
Even more bizarrely, it has also emerged that the statement that Moupo signed a few weeks ago was also forced unto him against his will by the BNF cabal that wants him to leave.
The statement was drafted by one university teacher.
Since the problem started, a number of his central committee members have been writing letters calling for his resignation under false names.
The short leave is meant to give him and the party breathing space and save the two from public battering.
It is also a tactical retreat by Moupo to take steam out of his erstwhile friends and comrades inside the party.
Already a growing number of BNF senior members are saying the compliance of Moupo’s law firm should no longer be part of the equation.
With the party leadership forum scheduled for this weekend, there are indications that Moupo could be calling a special congress so that he could get new leadership around him who will support him.
