Ryder Gabathuse
9 July 2009
Francistown — In a relatively bare knuckled factional fight at the Tati East constituency, a Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) activist, Rodgers Ngwenya, has petitioned the results of the branch congress of last Saturday.
Ngwenya claims that although he was previously elected a delegate from his Siviya ward to the branch congress held in Tatisiding village last Saturday, he does not know what has altered his status overnight.
He suspects fraud at branch level because he could not get a concrete answer as to how his status changed from a delegate to an observer.
Ngwenya, who is associated with the so-called Nkate-Merafhe faction of the BDP, suspects foul play by the branch committee, which he feels acted in cahoots with the regional committee that conducted the branch congress. Members of the so-called Kedikilwe-Kwelagobe axis dominate both branch and regional committees in the area.
In his petition letter, Ngwenya writes: "Congress did not select names of delegates to the national congress. The branch committee has instead imposed names to the congress explaining that they had a meeting to decide who is to go to the congress, therefore no need for the congress to select the names of delegates."
He further complains that delegates from the nine wards of the Tati East constituency were not considered and that the Francistown regional deputy secretary, Sam Masunga came alone to run the congress elections.
"Unfortunately, what Masunga did was to approve the fraud that was done by the partisan wards. I find this to be against the party constitution as some of us have been denied a right to become delegates as we were initially elected," contended Ngwenya.
In his letter, he requests "the BDP Central Committee to intervene and have the branch congress to run according to the party constitution or stop the Tati East branch from participating in the national congress to be held in Kanye."
Asked if he was not driven by the factional feuds in the party to report others, Ngwenya explains: " By this petition, I am not pursuing any factional fight. But I feel that if some people are saying we should be guided by the party constitution then they should lead by example in that regard."
He also argued that it was unfortunate that in Tati East, they were expected to "dance to the tune of one man just because he happens to be the area MP."
Asked about the petition letter, Tati East MP Guma Moyo pleaded ignorance. "I am not the one who conducted the branch congress and elections and as such I am not in a good position to comment," says Moyo referring all queries to councillor Sam Masunga, who conducted the congress and elections on behalf of the Francistown regional committee.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Masunga said, "To the best of my knowledge and in terms of the BDP constitution the branch congress went on smoothly."
He said in terms of the party constitution, a constituency advises its wards that before the branch congress there will be ward congresses. "All the nine wards of Tati East were duly informed and they have made it. So, I have no doubt that we have fulfilled all the constitutional provisions."
Masunga, who is the Francistown deputy regional secretary, indicated that as a matter of procedure he was provided with minutes from the respective wards and "I proceeded with the congress on the basis of the information from the wards."
Well, he acknowledges that at the branch congress Ngwenya did raise his voice worrying about his altered status. "But, it was Ngwenya who later pointed out that he was confusing a delegate and observer status after reading him minutes from the Siviya ward, which was duly clarified to his satisfaction," Masunga told Mmegi.
On the basis of the aforementioned, Masunga has no doubt that the congress went on smoothly and there was no one who raised a voice afterwards.
The BDP secretariat has confirmed receipt of a letter from Ngwenya petitioning the weekend branch results.
"We are in receipt of a complaint letter from Ngwenya and we are dealing with it," said BDP executive secretary, Dr Comma Serema yesterday.
Serema further indicated that the complaint they are dealing with currently is the only one so far relating to the branch congress.
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