A story appearing in The Telegraph headlined “BCP Moves to Suspend anti-Unity Dissidents” is a mix of lies and malice. The import of the story is that BCP members who addressed a Political rally in Bobonong are anti-unity dissidents whose motive is to derail opposition cooperation negotiations. The story goes further to say that the group is financed by the BDP to carry out its activities. In a sinister tone and with deliberate malice, the story attempts to link the Bobonong Rally with Ntuane’s meeting with former BCP members who defected to the BDP in the recent past. First, let me note for the record that those who attended the BCP rally in Bobonong are not dissidents. They are all loyal, bonafide and passionate members of the BCP. To call them dissidents is an insult of paranoiac proportions. Labelling comrades who toil ceaselessly for the party as dissidents is not only unfair but an indication that the writer of the story is so emotionally enmeshed in the issues that he could not hide his bias. This is activist and partisan reporting. Second, the suggestion by the author of the article that the trip to Bobonong was sponsored by the BDP has occasioned a collective hurt given the personal sacrifices that all of us had to endure to make the trip possible. As we have done on countless occasions and as we shall continue to do, we use our family resources to support democracy. The Bobonong Rally was not any different. The author of the article had a diabolical agenda. He wanted to soil our integrity and tarnish our reputation with the hope that he shall diminish the credibility of the BCP. The aim of The Telegraph is to confuse the gullible and the uninformed by giving a vulgarized portrayal of the BCP and a section of its activists. Those who follow politics closely will know that The Telegraph belongs to the same stable as theSunday Standard, a newspaper owned by Spencer Mogapi who has demonstrated such toxic hatred for the BCP. Any member of the BCP who rejoice over Spencer’s bashing of some of us must have their heads examined. That stable of newspapers where the owners are also editors have a longstanding death wish for our party. Third, by headlining the story with the words suspension of BCP dissidents, The Telegraph sought to induce panic, uncertainity and instability within the BCP. The evil intentions of The Telegraph and its owners are clear for everyone to see and as such, right thinking people should dismiss The Telegraph story with contempt.
The Bobonong rally was a normal mobilization event. Phagenyana Phage was the Guest Speaker and other party members who are starved of party activities of late, thronged the rally. The rally had all you could ask from a typical BCP rally. It had substance, policy message, humor and a few demagogic outbursts. The policy message was anchored on our party manifesto where issues of job creation, diversification, education and health were presented by different speakers. The local BCP councilors namely Keoagile Ramatlotlo and Thulaganyo Lucas gave a useful account of local issues. The President of the Youth League focused on youth and sports matters. The Guest speaker derided the area MP for failing to advocate for the development of the area. It is true that in the heat of his fiery presentation, he stated that he does not trust the UDC leader and vintage Phage, he even composed a song in the process to drive his point. While it may be undesirable for BCP members to launch attacks on the UDC, it has become acceptable for members of parties including those in the opposition to attack leaders. BCP’s Dumelang Saleshando has been roundly abused by UDC members for a long time. Even up to today, he still receives a lot of flack from UDC members in the social media. Saleshando’s demand for a fair deal was met with intense hostility by members of the UDC. Politics is generally adversarial and sporadic attacks should not cause undue alarm. They should be phased out over time through a gradual process of consensus and coalition building. More than ever before such consensus is achievable and the biggest threat to such is an activist media and a coterie of excitable party functionaries who blow petty talk into national spotlight at every corner. An impartial and mature media should be probing opposition parties to evolve a policy blue-print for the renewal of Botswana, if they are favored with power in 2019. Discourse should shift from hype to substance in the days, months and years ahead. Strong and enduring relationships are borne out of robust engagement, not out of pandering to the whims of an influential elite or kowtowing to media holy cows and labor aristocrats whom I shall name in the next article. We hope The Telegraph under the editorship of Spencer will heed this call and dispense with its obsession with the BCP.
As for the tarnish occasioned by The Telegraph story, I am yet to advise myself as to the appropriate course of action to take. The story smacks of defamation. I am a firm believer in free expression but I am increasingly disturbed by the abuse of such rights by some sections of the media.
Lucas is BCP Member, Bobonong Constituency
