I still can’t believe how Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ‘MOONO’ was beaten by Botswana Democratic Party in Kgalagadi North. UDC being the largest in the constituency with BDP crawling behind, I cannot help but start to wonder if there is any truth in the hearsay of how people were bribed and bought off in smaller villages; but that’s a story for another day.
See I come from a close knit yet politically divided village of Kang where ‘mongwe le mongwe o thopa gko o tja gkayo’. As a young woman who grew up experiencing both life in the city and the village I was determined to vote wisely which was evident in my ‘X’. I was continuously being reminded who to vote for by friends, family and strangers alike but they all failed to give valid reasons except the fact that ‘so and so is my uncle’ or ‘that is just the right thing to do’.
Little did they know that I had long made my decision even before I left Gaborone, I was not voting for family I was voting for change. As a first time voter I had been pretty excited and day dreamed about the counting of the ballots more than the voting as I knew that ‘hothe he chwere Moono’ and there was no doubting that. Kgalagadi North is a yellow place until early Saturday morning where nothing had prepared me for what I heard over the phone and radio botswana broadcast. BDP had taken over my village and its surroundings.
They had done the unthinkable and voted for a party that uses government resources and passes them off as their own. I don’t see fault at the disadvantaged groups which receive these aids nor the illetrate who dont have information disserminated to them especially in a language they understand.This did not just happen in Kang but in most villages in the country. My blame goes to the naive and gullible youth who did not vote wisely despite their intelligence and vast knowledge, this was just sheer ignorance on their part. UDC was the change we needed and its growth as the opposition has not gone unnoticed. Now what’s left is to march forward and prepare for 2019.
Phillip Khwae led with honour, honesty and was a man for the people unlike the leader who is just about himself and doesn’t talk to just anyone, Domi wee! That too is a story yet to be shared. Politics is a game of numbers but the numbers lied last week. Atleast now the cabinet has been announced, I still shake my head to majority of the minsters but who am I in the voice of the oppressed?
