In July 2009, two rival factions of the BDP were engaged in what will go down in the history of the party as a fierce battle for survival and dominance. After the central committee elections which were held at Seepapitso Senior Secondary School, some people left the school frustrated and humiliated. Their egos were bruised while others celebrated like there was no tomorrow. Little did they know that their celebrations would be short-lived as the party president was on a mission to thwart their efforts of running the party. He did not accept a central committee led by Kwelagobe which was elected by democrats in free and fair elections. He suffocated and paralyzed it.
As a result of the drastic changes that have taken place within the BDP since the Kanye congress, Kwelagobe’s influence within the party has been reduced drastically. He has been pushed to the periphery and it is just a matter of time before he is dumped by the very same party that he has worked for tirelessly for four decades.
Despite Kwelagobe’s claims that he is a strong protector of the party constitution, he had to go against his conscience and agree with President Khama on the compromise list for the central committee positions. It is the only thing that Kwelagobe can use now to retain his position as the Chairman of the BDP. He knows very well that if the list was to be compiled by someone else, especially a member of the dominant A-Team faction, then his name would not appear on it, thus condemning him to the party history dustbins. By agreeing to the compromise list, he was in a way given a long rope to hang himself. And that is exactly what is happening.
It must also be appreciated that Kwelagobe does not have the army that he used to win the elections in 2009. The soldiers that he mentored and developed into good politicians left to form the BMD. They were followed by multitudes of supporters, the very same people who voted for Kwelagobe in 2009. He, therefore, does not have the numbers that he needs to successfully oppose President Khama’s proposal of a compromise list.
He has reached a cul-de-sac. He has no room to maneuver. He is like a dog that is chasing its tail.
He cannot challenge or afford to differ with President Khama on how things within the party and at the national level ought to be done because he currently needs Khama’s support and endorsement to be in the central committee. His conspicuous silence when public servants paralyzed the country with an industrial action for eight weeks goes a long way in showing us that he has been rendered powerless by his political master.
The sad thing about Kwelagobe is that time is running out for him. He is moving towards the end of his political career. He cannot stop the damage that his political master is doing to the BDP and the country at large; the two entities that he (Kwelagobe) has spent his entire adult life working for. This must be painful to him.
Unlike Kwelagobe, Kentse Rammidi still has a lot of energy. Age is on his side. He has a bright political future ahead of him and can avoid the path that Kwelagobe has taken (intentionally or otherwise). Rammidi has been a member of the BDP for many years. He knows that things have changed drastically within the party. He knows that people who are independent minded like him have no place in the BDP. They are viewed as a bunch of undesirable elements who have no discipline and respect for the party leadership.
Rammidi should know that if he agrees to the compromise list simply because his name appears on it, then he will be sending a wrong and confusing message to his constituents and to the entire nation. People will doubt his credentials as a democrat just as they are currently doing with Kwelagobe because he (Rammidi) has always stated in very clear terms that he does not support the list. And if his name appears on the list, he will have a hard time explaining to the democrats the need for elections because he would have been given the position that he wants.
If he is endorsed as the Secretary General, then one can safely predict that he is going to be suffocated in the same manner as it was done with Gomolemo Motswaledi. President Khama will never allow him to execute the duties of the Secretary General freely. He (Rammidi) should not even think that he can fight from within to change things in the BDP. Motswaledi, Kwelagobe and others have tried to do that and failed dismally. It is a war that he can never win.
He does not need to be reminded that the words “forgiveness” and “reconciliation” do not appear in President Khama’s vocabulary. The fact that they are no longer in good terms means that he will never be forgiven for the things that he said or did. This happened to Motswaledi two years ago.
There is a high possibility of Rammidi being vetted out during the BDP primaries in 2013. It is reported in the private newspapers and radio stations that the BDP leaders have been irked by the comments that he recently made in public. Some leaders are said to be calling for the removal of his name from the compromise list. If he is lucky and allowed to stand for elections, he will find himself campaigning without the support and blessing of the party leadership as it was the case with Ntuane, Moyo, Mmolotsi and others. He will be on his own.
Rammidi does not need to be reminded that he is dealing with a leader who tells us that power in a democracy resides with the people but gets offended when MPs complain about the poor services rendered to the very same people that he claims to have power. President Khama barred Motswaledi from standing for elections and stated in his court papers that the interests of the residents of Gaborone Central did not matter. Does Rammidi expect the president to care about the interests of his constituents?
Given the manner in which things are unfolding within the BDP, the only thing that Rammidi needs to do is to decide whether he still wants to remain a member of a party led by people who do not like him or not. His contributions to the party are no longer appreciated. He should therefore, move to a political party that will appreciate his contributions, give him the freedom to express his views as well as protect and defend the interests of his constituents to the best of his abilities. And as he decides on where he wants to be or what he wants to be in the future, he should always remember the Setswana proverb which says “bodiba bo jeleng ngwana wa ga mmago, e re o bo bona o bo dikologe.”
