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Botswana: Mzwinila And Nkate Committing Political Suicide
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
COLUMN
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Gaborone
The recent newspaper article with the title "Mzwinila takes on Kedikilwe" (Botswana Guardian 14th March 2008) cannot escape one's quest to respond to, particularly that it carries some allegations that are void of the truth.
Though it is within Mzwinila's right (as said by Hon Kedikilwe in that article) to contest like any other Democrat, it is worth noting that Mzwinila's intention to contest is not borne out of his right to do so, but he is being used in a factional fight that he might not be aware of, or if aware, he's making a calculated risk thereto.
When the Youth went to Bobonong to elect the National Youth Executive Committee in July 2005, Mzwinila and his Barata-Phathi faction were aware that they would be humiliated by the A-Team if they went into contest as pure factions (Barata-Phathi Vs A-team). That is why he opted to be in the Unity Team (a combination of equal number of candidates from each faction). The main aim of the Unity Team (as the name seeks to suggest), was to bring about unity in the BDP by putting an end to factionalism, first by recognising the existence of each faction and secondly by bringing the two factions to work together as a team. The Seloma (originally Maforaga) team were those who could not logistically be accommodated into the Unity Team, hence their battle as a pure A-team, leading to their ultimate loss.
Somewhere along the way, Mzwinila is known to have abandoned both the Barata-Phathi faction and the Unity team and joined the Nkate's A-Team where he was promised support against Kedikilwe. It is worth noting that though not a good thing, Mzwinila (under the Barata-Phathi setup) was promised automatic takeover of Mmadinare Constituency when Kedikilwe quits.
As a result of having joined the A-Team, Mzwinila is known to tried to impose the interests of the A-Team on the Youth Executive, but unsuccessfully as he met resistance from the true members of the Unity Team. As a result, Mzwinila wanted to surround himself with Youth Executive members who are loyal to him and the A-Team.
In the process, Mzwinila is known to have caused the unlawful and procedural suspension of a fellow Executive Member, and replaced him with another who is known to be his campaign manager against Hon Kedikilwe in the Mmadinare Constituency. As if that was not enough, the letter of suspension is alleged to have been written by the same person who was to take up the post (a clear conflict of interest).
Mzwinila was clever enough not to write the same letter for fear of tarnishing his image (as such suspension is said to be unfounded), and the Youth Secretariat also could commit themselves to writing it for the same reasons. Mzwinila is also known to have successfully imposed Nkate's interest in having this year's National Youth Congress to be held in Gumare in the Ngami constituency in a bid to boost Nkate's campaign. Nkate on the other hand is known to be facing an uphill battle in the forthcoming Primaries. Nkate has not been able to quell factionalism in the party and tribalism which is rife in his constituency which covers most of the Bayeyi and their Kamanakao Association, and the electorate are not happy with him.
Some BDP members are even vying to fix him at the polls. It would be better if he lost the Primaries because the event he wins, he might not make it in the General Election, which may not be good for the party. He is trying by all means (including using Mzwinila and his Executive) to grip to the constituency. That explains why he was quick to say Hon Kedikilwe's complaint does not hold any water. Under normal circumstances, it is the regional secretary who should answer to such questions, or the BDP Executive Secretary or his deputy (Comma Serema or Fidelis Molao) not the Secretary General, except when he has personal interest in the matter, as he now does.
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Nkate is trying by all means to cling to his power, even if it means doing unacceptable things on his trail, including dragging Mzwinila along and causing him to make mistakes. The two are not aware that they've already committed political suicide and that by their continued attempts to grip to power, they are also writing their political obituary, which we shall be reading soon.
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