Oliver Modise
18 November 2008
Former Botswana National Front (BNF) youth wing president Gabriel Kanjabanga and his supporters disrupted a rally held at Tsholofelo in Gaborone North by another BNF member Lemogang Ntime on Sunday.
The saga, which ended in Broadhust Police station erupted after Kanjabanga and his supporters walked into Ntime's rally and caused mayhem by playing loud music before a war of words ensued between and Ntime and Kanjabanga's supporters.
The clash between Kanjabanga and Ntime comes after months of an unresolved dispute on who should represent the BNF at Gaborone North.
While Ntime maintains that he has been transferred from Molepolole North constituency to Gaborone North and has applied to contest the party's primaries in that constituency, Kanjabanga on the one hand contends that he is the party's legitimate candidate at Gaborone North.
Kanjabanga has threatened legal action against the party if he is not declared the party's candidate for the forthcoming 2009 general elections.
Members of the opposition, Botswana Congress Party (BCP), who were also holding a political rally nearby had to call off their message of the day and spectate on the clash between Kanjabanga and Ntime.
However in an interview, Kanjabanga denied that the disruption nearly turned violent, adding that they were only concerned because the rally was a ploy to campaign for Ntime while there was still a pending issue about his candidature at Gaborone North."They misled the police into giving them a permit, we went to complain and the rally could not go ahead," said Kanjabanga.
Kanjabanga, the architect behind BNF's 2007 special congress that saw party president Otsweletse Moupo's camp triumph over the Kathleen Letshabo faction, believes that the party leadership is supporting Ntime against him.
In a separate interview, Ntime said that it was regrettable that Kanjabanga's supporters disrupted a rally meant to mobilise the party's membership in the constituency "Bo comrade ga ba dire sentle,"said Ntime.He said that the rally was applied for by BNF members who felt that the party was way behind in preparing for the elections.
Ntime denied that the rally was meant to sell his candidacy for Gaborone North.
Contacted for comment, BNF spindoctor Moeti Mohwasa confirmed that he had been informed about what transpired at Gaborone North. Mohwasa said that the party leadership was still awaiting an official report on what really happened at the disrupted rally. Mohwasa also revealed that the party central committee had met and taken a decision to call primary elections at Gaborone North. He said that the executive committee was yet to meet the constituency's elections committee to set out the logistics for primary elections at Gaborone North.
Broadhust Police Station was not available for comment at the time of going to press, however, Mmegi is aware that Police are still investigating the issue.
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