BCP mourns Kavindama

| Thursday June 26, 2008 00:00

Joseph Kavindama died at the Gumare Primary Hospital on the morning of 21 June after a short illness.

Kavindama became a Member of Parliament in 1984 and represented the Okavango constituency until 2004. Over the 20 years, he steadfastly defended the interests of his constituents. At the time when he became a Member of Parliament in 1984, the constituency was largely regarded as a wildlife management area with little emphasis on the development of the basic infrastructure for the area. It was through his tireless campaign that government introduced policy reforms to ensure that the people of Okavango benefit from the tourism sector and that roads, schools and health facilities were developed. Okavango has now become a better constituency for its human inhabitants because of the efforts of Comrade Kavindama.

Okavango has for a long time been at the centre of the development of opposition politics in Botswana. Kavindama was voted to Parliament as a member of the Botswana National Front in 1984. In 1998, together with 11 other BNF Members of Parliament he formed the Botswana Congress Party. In 1999, he contested elections under the banner of the Botswana Congress Party and defeated both the Botswana Democratic Party and the Botswana National Front. He was the first to win a parliamentary seat using the BCP ticket. He assisted the opposition to grow in stature and confidence by ably representing the Okavango constituency for 2 decades, when it was generally the norm that rural constituencies were traditional support bases of the BDP. At the time of his death, he was the confirmed candidate of the BCP for the 2009 general elections.

We wish to convey our sympathies to the family of Comrade Kavindama. He will forever be remembered for his selfless service to the nation.

Funeral arrangements have not been finalized and will be communicated later this week.

Dumelang Saleshando
BCP Information & Publicity Secretary