That the BDP is splitting is no longer breaking news. It is a party going through a painful process of self-destruction. It is facing the greatest crisis in its history. It is a sinking titanic whose captain does not know what to do, when or even how. It is collapsing under the leadership of none other than President Khama who was brought in to propel it to higher heights. He was roped in to quell factional fights which were tearing the party apart. Unfortunately, he decided to align himself with the A-Team faction and used all the powers that he has to suffocate members of Barata Phathi faction to such an extent that they decided to leave him peacefully with “his party.”
I guess it never occurred to President Khama that by suffocating and abusing Barata Phathi as well as ignoring the choice made by the democrats in Kanye last year, his decisions and actions were to change the political landscape of Botswana forever. As the winds of change continue to blow across our beloved country, the biggest loser in my view is going to be the BDP. The party may have the much-needed resources at its disposal to mount a scathing attack on opposition parties. But the main problem is that it is going to lose real politicians who can easily connect with the electorate. As my colleague Kenneth Dipholo rightly pointed out in an article that appeared in the Sunday Standard newspaper a fortnight ago, the party has lost some of its best brains and will no longer be attractive to people.
Ever since a decision was taken at the Mogoditshane meeting that a new party be formed, the BDP leaders have been running helter-skelter not knowing what to do with the hot potato that has landed on their lap. All those who attended the meeting were given 48 hours to return their membership cards. No one obliged and disciplinary action was to be taken against all the self seeking and power hungry individuals as they are called by the party president.
Now we all know that the whole disciplinary process has been turned into a circus as all people called to face charges have ignored the instructions except Ndaba Gaolathe. He embarrassed members of the disciplinary committee by telling them that he was resigning from the party and has no time to waste defending himself. By so doing, Ndaba clearly demonstrated that he is a few steps ahead of his persecutors intellectually, politically and otherwise. He beat them hands down and all that they could do was to say that he has not resigned from the BDP. Instead of learning from the ordeal and saving their faces by coming up with a better strategy of handling the whole process, the disciplinary committee of the mighty BDP decided to continue with the trials.
Little did they know that their decision was going to expose them to virulent verbal attacks from the people that they are trying to persecute and destroy. The committee has been dismissed as a kangaroo court, whose main mandate is to abuse, vilify and crucify members of Barata Phathi faction. The accused people contend that the process is characterized by flagrant disregard for the principles of natural justice even though some of the committee members spent five years of their lives reading law. The committee is not viewed as a legitimate structure of the party given the manner in which its members were selected while some people have gone further to refer to it as a committee made up of criminals and ex-convicts!
I wonder what went through the minds of the committee members with criminal records when they read these statements in the newspapers. Do they really need to subject themselves to such attacks all in the name of exercising the power given to them by the party constitution or the party president? I honestly do not understand why intelligent people can cartoon themselves by trying to prosecute people who are busy mobilizing resources for their new party. What exactly is the BDP trying to achieve with the trials?
I am of the view that the disciplinary process is not serving any purpose and simply indicates that the BDP leaders are in denial. They are desperate and do not know how to handle the crisis engulfing their party. They are behaving like an abusive husband who does not want to accept a decision made by his wife that she is ending their marriage. I guess all people who have gone through the divorce process will agree with me that when one of the partners decides to walk out, no one and nothing can stop them from doing so. The most common reason that our learned friends in the legal fraternity like to cite as the main cause of divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Sometimes they cite irreconcilable differences as the main cause.
Who in the BDP does not see that the relationship between Barata Phathi and the A-Team factions has broken down irretrievably? Or is it simply a case of people trying to satisfy their egos by doing what the party constitution and president say should be done? If this is the case, then the BDP leaders are doing exactly what Botsalo Ntuane said they should do when he refused to attend the disciplinary hearing: that they should satisfy their egos and make decisions for their pleasure.
*Dr Mothusi teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana
