Botswana National Front (BNF) Vice President Prince Dibeela’s loyalists are believed to be rounding up “traitors” inside the faction ahead of the party planned elective congress next month.
Former BNF Member of Parliament, Noah Salakae this week broke his silence about what appears to be a thinly veiled political purge by Team Restoration led by the party vice president.
In an opinion piece to the Sunday Standard (to be published next week) Salakae who was to contest for the position of Secretary General revealed how he together with former Gaborone Major Nelson Ramaotwana and former BNF Youth League President Kago Mokotedi where dropped from the Team Restoration lobby list because they tried to unite the party.
“I never pulled out from the SG race. I was duly recalled. The long and short of the story is, Cde Ramaotwana, Cde Mooketsi and I had approached comrades Boko and Dibeela to make a truce for the benefit of the BNF and the entire opposition collective. Our lobby felt this was a factional matter, insinuating we had gone overboard by engaging a leader of a rival faction before we consolidated our position on the matter as a faction.
“I had a different opinion. Which opinion, fortunately, was shared by Cde Ramaotwana and Cde Mokotedi.”
“Our view was simple. Cde Boko and Cde Dibeela were leaders of the BNF first before they could identify themselves with their respective factional inclinations.”
Salakae states that shortly after their attempt to get Boko and Dibeela to smoke the peace pipe, “I received a message from Cde Kgosipula, Manager for Team Restoration slate, that I have been recalled from the lobby group as SG aspirant. Cde Ramaotwana and Cde Kago Mokotedi would later confirm to me that they too had received theirs.”
