Kesitegile Gobotswang: A humble personality that is the embodiment of opposition hopes by Spencer Mogapi 04-06-2014 Kesitegile Gobotswang is a rare breed in Botswana’s political pantheon that is dominated by brazenly arrogant politicians. Listening to him speak, one is tempted to conclude that he is a saint who has lost his way into politics. He is self-effacing, unassuming and modest with a kind of humility that borders on self-deprecation . He spurns the exuberance and swashbuckling demeanour that consumes many of his colleagues in politics. More importantly he transmits an air of high mindedness and deliberately avoids petty talk, gossip and frivolity common among Botswana politicians. While some of his colleagues in the Botswana Congress Party leadership never miss an opportunity to remind the public of their love for finer things in life, Gobotswang is best known for a frugal and thrifty lifestyle. Last year the BCP Secretary General quit his day job at the University Botswana where he had worked as a senior lecturer to pursue politics on a fulltime basis. He relocated to his home village where he has retained a close attachment with his rural Tswapong brethren, a proud offshoot of the Pedi tribes whose language he often visits in hushed undertones if only to underscore the fact that notwithstanding his education (he has a doctorate) he still considers himself one of them. Close associates however say Dr. Gobotswang’s humility betrays a steely determination and a penchant for backroom planning and scheming, fed by a coal hot ambition that has spawned his stratospheric rise within the BCP ranks. The most glaring example of his power and influence inside the BCP came when he was recently named vice president of the party’s controversy strewn shadow cabinet ahead of Batisani Maswibilili, who is the party deputy leader. Together with Philip Bulawa, a former colleague at the University of Botswana, Gobotswang’s name often crosses the radar among possible future BCP leaders should an open leadership contest happen. Party insiders say it was on account of his lobbying skills that a few years ago he coordinated a small circle of BCP benefactors that convinced the general membership to forego internal leadership contests as a way of fastracking the party’s chances through handpicking a small group of people perceived as marketable and plugging them into leadership positions. The overall strategy was to win over a skeptical public by proving that unlike other opposition parties before it, the BCP had no intention of staying in opposition forever. The strategy also worked in as far as it enhanced the party’s overall organizational efficiencies. It has however not been without costs. An acerbic critic of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party’s hereditary politics, Gobotswang’s masterplan backfired as it bequeathed the BCP an unenviable tag of double standards. Under the plan, Dumelang Saleshando, the current BCP leader was literally handed down the baton by his father Gilson, a veteran and astute politician who has since announced his retirement from active politics. But to be fair to Gilson, he had never wanted his son to succeed him. And indeed fought high and main to block the plan, arguing unsuccessfully that his son was still too young and not yet mature enough to become party leader. The older Saleshando was however defeated by people like Gobotswang who told Gil to his face that the matter was not for him to decide as it was not a family but political party issue. Gobotswang and his small group felt strongly that the younger Saleshando provided the biggest opportunity for BCP to break the ceiling and possibly enter Government. They won the day. To this day the whole episode has continued to cast a dark shadow over BCP’s commitment to internal democracy. Accusations of intolerance, favoritism, uneven-handedness have filtered in as have those of excessive cult worship. Under the plan, Gobotswang was himself to be a direct beneficiary of the stage managed, shoo-in leadership transition as he became the Secretary General, an immensely powerful position that he inherited from Taolo Lucas, one of the party’s blue-eyed mandarins who was himself assigned the position of party spokesperson. While he has already achieved so much, all evidence is that we have not seen the best of Gobotswang just yet. Part of that evidence highlights a subtle is glide towards the BCP’s centre most political nexus. The most enduring example that Gobotswang attaches to politics is that since he started representing the BCP in Tswapong, the constituency is no longer a BDP heartland. He may not have realized his ambition to enter parliament just yet, but BCP electoral fortunes in the constituency have improved significantly. In the last General Election he cut the BDP margin to just above a thousand votes – a big feat when one remembers that there used to be a time when romped unopposed. Under his leadership the number of BCP councilors in the constituency has also increased dramatically. His stranglehold was further reinforced when he led the BCP to a council by-election victory last year, further demonstrating the ruling BDP’s unremitting loss of grip on the constituency. At Gobotswang’s campaign launch in his constituency last week, party leader spoke in glowing terms about the candidate’s selflessness and integrity. He was right. What Saleshando did not mention is that in the mist of uncertainty that consumes opposition candidates across the country, Gobotswang is the embodiment of hope and excitement that are needed to keep the opposition fortunes alive. © 2014 Sunday Standard, All Rights Reserved - Disclaimer | Site Design and Development by MINDQ
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:14:26 +0000
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