The Botswana Democracy Party (BDP) is continuing to lose members to its splinter group the Botswana Movement For Democracy (BMD).
This week two Gaborone City Councilors sympathetic to the BMD served the BDP’s secretariat with resignation letters.
Councilor Marx Bobi, of Notwane Ward, and Oabile Mafunga, of Naledi Central, confirmed to the Sunday Standard that they had resigned from the ruling BDP but would not readily reveal their next political home.
“Its true I have resigned, I have decided to leave the BDP and I have not taken a decision as to which party I am joining,” said Bobi.
The Notwane Ward councilor would also not divulge why he was resigning from the BDP.
In a separate interview with this paper, Mafunga also confirmed he had resigned from the BDP.
“I have not decided on which party I am joining but I will reveal the details later,” said Mafunga.
Although the civic leaders refused to shed light on their next port of call after quitting the ruling party, an obviously thrilled BMD official, Kabo Morwaeng, welcomed the duo’s decision and hailed it as a gain for democracy and the opposition.
“I urge many of our people who are still in the BDP to resign,” Morwaeng said on Friday.
A number of Gaborone City councilors, such as deputy mayor Haskins Nkaigwa, Nunu Lekau and veteran politician Keitumele Gabonewe are also among those reported to be on their way out of the BDP.
Contacted for comment, the BDP’s Executive Secretary Comma Serema, who was speaking from Ghanzi, told the Sunday Standard that he was not aware that the two had quit the party because he was away from the party Head Office.
Serema said that he could only make a pronouncement after verifying that the two were no longer members of the BDP.
“If at all it’s true, then we are not surprised because there are a number of councilors who have not been attending party caucus meetings,” said Serema.
He said that a number of Gaborone City Councilors have long displayed questionable traits for BDP members.
