I don’t live in the past – Morupisi

Lebogang Mosikare | Monday May 20, 2024 08:11

The former top and powerful government official left the public service ingloriously after he was convicted of one count of money laundering and two counts of money laundering.

Morupisi was recently thrust into the spotlight again after the BPF vetted in him as one of its parliamentary candidates to contest in the renamed Tswapong North constituency Morupisi will have a challenger in former minister, Prince Maele.

This will be the second time that Morupisi and Maele are competing for a position of power within the BPF.

Morupisi slugged it out with the former Lerala-Maunatlala legislator, Maele, for the position of the chairman of the BPF but Morupisi emerged victorious in a tight contest after he garnered 435 votes against Maele’s 408.

The question now is whether Morupisi’s previous conviction, sentence and fine will have any implications on the reputations of Morupisi and the BPF. The BPF has styled itself as a party that is determined to fight corruption in all its manifestations when it assumes power after the 2024 General Election.

Reached for comment, Morupisi said , “I don’t live in the past and I have never seen a system that bars people from contesting for public office forever just because they were found on the wrong side of the law. My attorneys have advised me that there is nothing wrong with me competing for positions of power within the BPF and at national level. I see where you are coming from but in terms of the law, there is nothing that stops me from contesting for positions of authority.”

The spokesperson of the BPF, Amogelang Mokwena, however did not downplay the ‘Morupisi effect’ when contacted for comment. Mokwena noted that the BPF will review the names of its activists who were recently approved to compete in its primaries to see if they are fit and proper to hold public office.

He also admitted that the conviction and subsequent sentence and fine of Morupisi will obviously become a stain on the legacy and reputation of Morupisi and the BPF as a whole during the campaign trail. “The BPF will review the names of its candidates at council and parliamentary level who were allowed by our structures across the country to compete in our primary elections to see if they are fit and proper to stand for public office. With regards to the Morupisi issue, we have sent it to our attorneys to see if his candidature is not somehow at variance with the constitution of the BPF and constitution of Botswana,” said Mokwena.

Asked if it is right for political parties to field candidates with a tainted image for party positions and public office, a political analyst at the University of Botswana (UB), Adam Mfundisi said: “My considered view is that we need to reform the Constitution of Botswana and usher in an ethical, democratic, and accountable government. Good governance is critical for the development of a culture of ethics and accountability in the administration of this country. Thereafter, we can formulate subsidiary legislation to enforce ethics and accountability including a code of conduct for politicians. In the Republic of Kenya there is an ethics organ to vet out politicians standing for political office to ensure honour and ethics in politics. Do politicians in Botswana have the motivation to develop and apply codes of conduct to regulate their behaviour? I doubt it!”

Also wading in the issue in the past, a professor of politics at UB, Zibani Maundeni, posited that politicians with a chequered past and not necessarily Morupisi cannot be barred from holding positions of power and influence within their respective parties and at national level unless the Constitution is amended.

Maundeni said: “As a country, we should guide political parties to introduce a code of conduct for their activists. Failure to do that means that people who have committed serious crime will continue to stand for political office. Without a law that regulates people who can stand for political office, people with tainted reputations will continue to hold positions of power.”