Leader of the Opposition, Otsweletse Moupo, this week clashed with the ruling party veteran Member of Parliament, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, on the floor of parliament.
This was after Kedikilwe made a remark in parliament to the effect that Moupo seems to be so taken in by the Mercedes Benz car the opposition leader is chauffer driven in so much so that he even forgets to make contribution in parliament.
Kedikilwe said he was disappointed at the way the Leader of the Opposition trivialized the institution of the Opposition the other day by failing to contribute to the State of the Nation Address.
Kedikilwe was further dismayed that when he (Moupo) was shown of his mistakes, Moupo simply laughed.
“To smile when Rome is on fire is the worst form of irresponsibility,” said Kedikilwe.
“My colleague enjoys a lot of respect from me and I am sure quite a number of other Members, but when it comes to a situation whereby to be ensconced in a black car seems to be the end of the mission, I think we are doing a lot of disservice to this Republic,” continued the Member of Parliament for Mmadinare.
But when it was his turn to debate the Security and Intelligence Bill, Moupo awarded a good few minutes to hit back, not just at Kedikilwe but also at Boyce Sebetela who had also taken a cue from Kedikilwe to ride Moupo roughshod.
After apologizing to the nation for failing to make a statement in parliament following the State of the Nation Address, Moupo, who was in good form, took Kedikilwe and Sebetela head-on.
“I used to respect Kedikilwe as one of the most educated and reasonable people inside the BDP. It never occurred to me that he could descend to levels of Pedestrian Street fighting,” said Moupo.
Moupo said he did not want to respond to Sebetela as that could “reduce the House into a circus.”
He, however, said Sebetela’s attacks on him were as “fallacious as they were ludicrous.”
“A man cannot be estimated on an incident of one day. I cannot be judged on the basis of that lapse. I make mistakes but I am not ignorant,” said Moupo.
He said it is surprising that Sebetela “who sells himself as a liberal” wants to have the monopoly of truth and wisdom. Moupo was clearly having a good time.
