For a man who never ends a conversation without mentioning God, it surprises me that Ramadeluka Ndelu Seretse seems to fail to act with the magnanimity expected of the converted and the delivered. Seretse is always quick to let people know that he has found his salvation in God. This is the man who always claims to walk in the shadows of God. He walks in the light of God. Nigeria has literally become Seretse’s second home as he often travels there to seek spiritual healing from TB Joshua. He is always shown on TB Joshua’s television network occupying the front seat at SCOAN. Seretse may soon be ordained a deacon at Joshua’s church, looking at how he has become a regular at his church. Look, I’m not trying to patronize Seretse. I’m glad he has found God. I am happy for him. That said, it’s important that before I dwell on what this installment is all about, I should first put into perspective the kind of a person Seretse is, or rather the kind that he has portrayed himself to be. Apart from his Christian life, or perhaps as influenced by it, Seretse comes across as a laid down gentleman who would not want squabbles and quarrels in his life. He always appears calm and collected. You would want to believe he loves peace.
Let’s get to the gist of the matter. Seretse has lost in the recent BDP primary elections at Serowe North. Kgotla Autlwetse white-washed him fair and square. Autlwetse’s victory is as clear and distinctive as black and white or day and night. No doubt about it. He showed him dust. Seretse is now protesting the results. Look, I’m not saying just because Seretse is a self-confessed man of God he is therefore not entitled to fight for his rights. That’s not my contention. Afterall Christians of ‘nowadays’ frequent the courts probably even more than criminals. Brethrens are always at each other’s throats and gone are the days when Christians sought divine intervention within the walls of the church when dealing with internal differences. Nowadays they go to court.
The reason I started off by pointing out Seretse’s Christian background is for the simple reason that we don’t normally expect proper Christians to put their selfish interests ahead of public interest and rationality. Christians are known to seek wisdom from the Bible before they consult the constitution. Proper Christians know very well that just because something is legally permissible doesn’t make it automatically ethical. The question here for Seretse is, as a mzelwane and a lawyer by training, doesn’t his conscience tell him to go by the teachings of the Bible and not the BDP’s constitution. I mean, Seretse has relied on some piece of law from the BDP constitution to back his demands for a re-run in Serowe North and while that piece of law may indeed exist, any right thinking person, especially one who claims to have received God, would readily notice that it is an unjust law. I still fail to understand how a man of honor such as Seretse manages to protest such a clear loss le go swaba a sa swabe. Look, there are eight polling stations or wards in Serowe North. Seretse lost in seven wards, with a clear margin. In fact he had lost in the eighth ward but it’s only fair that we don’t count it in because of the dispute surrounding it.
What’s even interesting about this disputed ward is to learn Seretse is the complainant. My gut feeling tells me Autlwetse should have been the one to complain because, much as we have not been told much about the ‘kick boxer’ who kicked the ballot box, it only makes sense to suspect only Seretse’s supporters would have had motives to get angry and misbehave. I mean, why on earth would Autlwetse’s supporters go wild when their man was winning? There is no justification for disgruntlement from Autlwetse’s corner. The people of Serowe North have sent a clear message to Seretse. They do not want him to represent them in 2014. Seretse should therefore stop forcing himself on the people. Seretse is just asking for too much from God. At first when Seretse called for a re-run in that one ward which was disputed, it was befitting to empathize with him. It made sense even as it had all the hallmarks of desperation on his part. Now for him to invest so much time looking for loop holes in the constitution and go further on to demand a re-run in the whole constituency speaks volumes about his character. It is clear Seretse is not a selfless politician we all thought he was. He is a selfish politician who would rather be in parliament even when it’s not by popular vote.
At times I just wonder if these politicians whose fathers were once politicians ever stop to think whether their late parents would have been proud of their actions had they lived to this day. The other interesting part about Seretse’s appeal for a re-run is, the person who is instrumental in making that decision is Parks Tafa, by virtue of him being the chairman of the BDP electoral board and party lawyer. It’s interesting to see how Tafa will avoid being conflicted in the matter because he triples up as Seretse’s personal lawyer. It is also interesting to see how the BDP central committee will try to appease Seretse without provoking Autlwetse and his supporters, who are clearly in the majority. My opinion is, the BDP should just let this one go and let Seretse accept defeat. Should the BDP steal this one from Autlwetse, the people of Serowe North, BDP members that is, must punish Seretse at the national elections and vote for opposition. This will be the only way to reiterate their disapproval of him. Seretse should just gracefully take a bow, chill and drink lots of anointing water from TB Joshua.