Yes I said it. Until about two weeks ago when it was announced Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri has thrown his hat in the ring for the coveted Botswana Democratic Party Secretary General position, all indications were that Botsalo Ntuane would have it on a silver platter, unopposed. His free ride has since been cancelled by the unexpected arrival of Matlhabaphiri. Ntuane is my friend. A friend I can confide in my deepest thoughts and emotions. We are so close he will be one of the speakers at my funeral. As his friend, I know his political prowess and his personal appeal to the masses. It is because of all these traits that I don’t want him as BDP secretary general.
Look, if there is one thing I don’t want to be fed, it is humble pie. Ga ke bate go swabisiwa. I am already writing the BDP’s obituary because the truth of the matter is, in its current form; the BDP is on its death bed. I am therefore worried that the arrival of Ntuane as BDP secretary general may give the BDP a new lease of life, thus rendering the obituary obsolete. Unlike old timer Matlhabaphiri, Ntuane still possesses the political gusto that is needed in this new age politics. Opposition parties will agree with me that their job will be much easier with Matlhabaphiri at Tsholetsa House than it would be with Ntuane at the helm.
Come to think of it, Ntuane was instrumental in making Matlhabaphiri known in Gaborone. He began his politics as a grassroots activist at UB back in the 90’s when it was anathema for varsity students to associate with the BDP. In 1994 when Matlhabaphiri was contesting for Gaborone Central constituency, Ntuane as Chairman of GS 26 had to lead by example and be the first student to don a Matlhabaphiri T-shirt when the rest were nervous to wear Matlhabaphiri’s campaign T-shirts due to the invariably hostile reception they would receive. Fast-forward to 2015, Matlhabaphiri dumped Ntuane as his campaign manager and is now competing with him. And don’t get me twisted here. There is absolutely nothing undemocratic with what Matlhabaphiri has done.
All that could be lacking in his actions is principle and loyalty but hey, principle and politics do not belong in the same sentence. Like I mentioned, Matlhabaphiri is the right man to fulfill the wishes of everyone who wants to see the BDP dead and buried. I do not see Matlhabaphiri facing off with opposition Young Turks in the mould of Moeti Mhwasa and Wynter Mmolotsi. Recently we have been enjoying intellectual sparring between Ntuane and Mhwasa and such intellectual debates are so foreign to Matlhabaphiri. Actually, before I wrote this piece I surfed the internet in search of any writings from Matlhabaphiri. Waii all I could find was reports of him being a champion for the male circumcision campaign.
Now this is the kind of man some of us want as BDP secretary general because he doesn’t possess the might of the pen to defend his party. We don’t want Ntuane who is well read and to whom writing comes as easy as breathing. Kana with Matlhabaphiri some of us will continue bashing the BDP knowing too well he can’t write back. Does he even read what we write about the BDP? The good thing though about BDP members is that they never want to disappoint President Khama and as such, provided it is true he supports Matlhabaphiri, my wish shall be granted. Khama and his current Central Committee have been doing a great job breaking the BDP asunder it only makes sense why he would favor Matlhabaphiri over Ntuane.┬á Matlhabaphiri has what it takes to continue the damage while Ntuane has the potential to overhaul the wreck that the BDP has become. Ntuane knows the BDP more than he knows the back of his palm.
Ntuane has never had any job outside politics. Straight from university he was employed as political officer at Tsholetsa House where he also became a member of the central committee at the age of 24. In 1997 he was appointed Executive Secretary and in 1999 he had baptism of fire when he had to prepare the party for the general elections. In fact, Ntuane is the one who issued Ian Khama with the party membership card by virtue of him being the Executive Secretary at the time Khama officially joined politics. His record at the BDP is well documented and seems to surpass that of Matlhabaphiri who was already working with the late Sir Seretse Khama when Ntuane was still wearing shorts as a primary school pupil in the 70’s. Matlhabaphiri has therefore ran his race and should only come back if the BDP so much love me and want to grant my wish to have him sink their party further into oblivion.
I don’t know why Matlhabaphiri wants to become secretary general but I do know why Ntuane wants to. The guy loves the BDP and wants to inject some new hope into it. Ask him why he cut short his stay at opposition and his answer is always short: Because I missed my party. An advocate for a welfare state, Ntuane is also sociable and fun to be around and this makes him more appealing to the youth. He is an avid traveler, reader and writer. We do not want such characters to steer the BDP out of its death path. A weaker Secretary General is the right recipe for the BDP downfall. Give us Matlhabaphiri.
