‘Gopane o gadikiwa ka mahura a gagwe’

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) veteran stalwart, Vain Mamela, says former president Ian Khama will come in handy for the opposition coalition in the battle against the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) going to the 2024 general election.

Addressing a BCP virtual rally held via Zoom on Sunday, Mamela said it is hypocritical of Domkrag to be peddling falsehoods and misleading the nation by creating an impression that Khama is a demon when they used to benefit from exploiting his name. The irony of it all, he said, is that the BDP used to praise Khama when he helped them win elections only to turn around and claim he is now evil, simply because he now associates with opposition parties.

He said it is indisputable that Khama is a product of the BDP, and if he voluntarily chooses to join opposition politics, like any other Motswana who enjoys the right to join any political organisation of their choice, opposition parties (under the UDC) should not reject him.

“In fact, Khama will be a very useful weapon to fight the same party he used to lead as he knows a lot about their system and operations. We cannot, therefore, reject Khama. We will work with him to topple the BDP because gopane o gadikiwa ka mahura a gagwe,” said Mamela, reiterating that the BDP is running scared, hence their vilification and demonisation of Ian Khama.