BDP members sue each other for alleged defamation
OLIVER MODISE
Staff Writer
| Friday June 13, 2008 00:00
'This is a legal issue and we are restrained from commenting on it,' BDP executive secretary, Comma Serema, said yesterday.
In the letter at the centre of the P500,000 Morwaeng suit, Sebele had complained that Morwaeng was attacking him at political rallies.
He revealed that the party had come to learn about the issue through Sebele after Morwaeng's lawyers, Lerumo Mogobe Legal Practitioners, slapped him (Sebele) with a defamation suit last week on Tuesday.
He said that the feud between Morwaeng and Sebele had been referred to the Central Committee, which subsequently instructed the party's council of elders to investigate the issue. Serema could not hide that his office was taken by surprise by the suit.
'The Central Committee still awaits a report from the council of elders,' stated Serema.
According to the suit, Sebele's letter was quoted in the Botswana Guardian alleging 'incessant attacks, verbal abuse and insults' by Morwaeng.
Contacted for comment, the Chairperson of the BDP's council of elders, Jerry Gabaake, also expressed surprise at the news that Morwaeng had taken up the issue with the courts. He said he was busy trying to arrange a hearing to bring peace between Morwaeng and Sebele.
Gabaake said the council had scheduled the case to be heard by the end of this month.
'Even the party office has not told me anything,' said a puzzled Gaabake in a telephone interview with Mmegi.
He told Mmegi that the issue was going to drag the party's name into disrepute. Gabaake said that the party elders could not discuss the issue any longer because, with Morwaeng suing Sebele, things had shifted from the party background to the courts of law.
'We have deliberately taken ourselves off the issue because it is now subject to litigation,' said Gabaake.
In a separate interview, Sebele rubbished the suit as a smear campaign intended to intimidate him from the party's 'bulela ditswe' campaign.
He said he had referred the matter to his lawyers and vowed to soldier on in preparation for the party's primaries. Sebele is challenging MP 'GUS' Matlhabaphiri for the Molepolole North parliamentary primaries.
Morwaeng has, however, dismissed Sebele's claims arguing that he was not standing for the party's primaries and, therefore, was not a threat to Sebele.
'I have been defamed; this is not a party matter. It is a civil matter,' he said.
'Nna ke itse ha ke tsotswe ditswalo.'
Morwaeng added that he was not in any ploy to intimidate Sebele.