In light of recent news of a pending breakaway party, which now appears inevitable, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) members are busy tearing at each other from all directions on public mediums.
The stand-offs between BDP‘s Secretary for Culture and Publicity Sub-committee, Macdonald Peloetletse, and card carrying member and columnist at a local newspaper, Sonny Serite, continued last week as Serite responded to the complaints bought before the disciplinary committee about him.
Despite the complaint lodged against him to the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, Lee Lesetedi, Serite said that he has no intention to cease from being a public commentator.
Last week,BDP ‘s Secretary for Culture and Publicity Sub-committee, Macdonald Peloetletse, filed a complaint against Serite in which he accused Serite of bringing disrepute to the party, failing to show selfless dedication to the cause of the BDP, and failing to behave with dignity and propriety, thereby embarrassing the BDP.
Serite recently said that he will not admit to any wrongdoing on his part because he finds the complaints bought forward by Peloetletse to be “baseless, vague and without substance”.
Serite also retaliated by writing to the Disciplinary committee to explain what he seeks to achieve through his public comments in a local newspaper.
“Perhaps I should state that I will not cease to be a public commentator at the behest of Peloetletse’s discomfort. In any case, I do not write to please Peloetletse. Neither is it my intention to provoke anybody through my writings. All I seek to achieve through my public comments is to make an input and contribution on matters of national interest,” said Serite.
In his letter, he further went on to state that the intentions behind his writings in the local media is to arouse debate within the community and not misdirected anger such as that coming from Peloetletse’s corner.
He also revealed that he wouldn’t stop writing about BDP and its leadership because he finds nothing wrong or sinister in praising, encouraging, criticizing, complaining and advising leaders in public.
“In some instances, I am inclined to write about the party and its leadership for we cannot divorce the two from public scrutiny, at least for as long as they remain holding the fort for us. I cannot promise that after all this I will fall into oblivion and abandon or surrender my wisdoms, thoughts, moral obligations, convictions and opinions,” said Serite.
