UNDER MY UMBRELLA: Duma Boko

TAWANA ENDS DEFECTION SPECULATIONS AFTER ROYAL RECEPTION AT UDC MAUN LAUNCH

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)  attracted thousands of people to its colourful launch on Saturday where the village chief, MP for Maun West, Kgosi Tawana Moremi stole the show.

Returning from  a long self imposed break from politics, Tawana made a grand entrance at the mammoth rally amidst cheers and ululations fit for a chief  from a sea of supporters and spectators that thronged the Mummies complex grounds to witness the historic launch of the opposition coalition in Maun.

When the Botswana Movement for Democracy party MP took to the podium the elated crowd went wild with cheers as he announced that he will not go back to  the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) which he defected from two years ago.

Addressing speculations that have been rife for over a year that he was about to retrace his steps back to the BDP like his former colleagues in the BMD Tawana said , “I do not blame those who  suspected that I was planning to defect back to the BDP.

I had serious family and business matters that I needed to attend to that demanded all my focus and attention.

I decided that it was  better  to take a break to sort those out first,” he said, adding that during that time he did not, not even once entertain the idea of retracing his steps back to the BDP.

“I am here to stay. I do however realise that it is not easy for  you to believe me because of the experience you have had with some former BMD leaders who said those same words to you and did the opposite.

Even if I were in your position looking at someone behaving the way I did, not attending meetings with other party leaders, I  would have suspected that  he was about to jump ship because but that chapter of my life  is closed and now and I am back and I am here to assure you that I am not going anywhere,,” he said in the midst of an applause from the crowd.

GRAND ENTRANCE: Tawana Moremi steals the show

“No matter how hard the BDP tries to lure me to their fold I cannot join a ‘one man party’ he said.

Asked to confirm or deny reports that he approached  the BDP sometime last year for an ambassadorial position in Mozambique but was told to return to the ruling party before he could be considered for it, Tawana refused to comment.

Meanwhile flanked by Motlatsi Molapisi, the president of the Botswana  People’s  party and  Nehemiah Modubule from the BMD, UDC president, Duma Boko also got his fair share of cheers when he delivered a passionate speech in which he criticised president Khama for among other things commissioning costly renovations of the State House in the middle of a recession

“We don’t know which woman or man the president is going to share the state house with because he is not married ? Boko said throwing the crowd into peels of laughter

Boko told his audience that crime was rising and the reason was that the police force was demoralised because they worked under appalling conditions, sometimes without even office furniture.

In his closing remarks Boko asked voters not vote for any party which will not be part of the Umbrella because it can not be trusted.

Modubule, Molapisi and Gilbert Mangole also spoke at the event.

Duma-Boko