… as Tsamaya councillor and committee of 18 resign

NE reporter

Five Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillors in Tati East constituency are expected to join Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) after publicly declaring their support to the president and his ruling party at a star rally in Tsamaya recently.
The recent resignation of Tsamaya councillor Reginald Mudongo, according to some BMD members, clearly shows that the councillors might have fooled President Khama into thinking that they are behind his leadership and committed to the party. Ironically, Mudongo is a councillor of the same ward where the BDP star rally was held two weeks ago. At the star rally all  11 councillors in Tati East publicly pledged their support to BDP, adding they would not follow area MP Samson Moyo Guma to BMD.
Sources say at least six councillors were fooling the president and senior BDP leaders such as VP Mompati Merafhe and BDP central committee members. At one point, the president and the councillors hugged, exchanged pleasantries and posed for photos together as a sign of solidarity. The rally was further aired on national television with councillors expressing their support to the president and the party.
One BDP councillor in the area sympathetic to BMD summed it, “It was a mere stunt.” Another continued, “We said all what we said out of respect for the country’s president. We knew very well that in a few weeks we would be moving to BMD. We are no longer happy at BDP and most of us are going to quit,” said another councillor preferring not to be named.
BMD administrative secretary in the Francistown region, Sam Masunga, this week told Northern Extra that the latest developments in Tati East shows that the revolution is taking shape.
“We are still going to welcome more councillors from Tati East to the party. In the end, we are going to welcome at least nine councillors from the constituency,” he said. He said that in Tsamaya where Khama addressed the rally, the whole BDP structures have collapsed. “On Tuesday this week, I received a resignation letter from the entire committee of 18 members in the village,” he said.
This week the BDP spokesperson, Segaetsho Garekwe, said he doesn’t believe that the councillors have fooled the president and the BDP leadership. He said the party still has a significant number of councillors in the area. He said it is normal for politicians to change their minds from time to time. “At that time we believed them and if some of them are said to be preparing to quit the party, then it is their democratic right to do so,” he said.