Butale’s doubtful prophecy
Ryder Gabathuse | Monday May 20, 2024 08:18
Also an entrepreneur, Butale’s big fall out with a party of his youth (1992-2019) the BDP, was precipitated amongst others by his loss of the party ticket at the primaries for the 2019 General Election. His conviction was that his loss to a youthful politician, Simon Moabi Mavange, in Tati West constituency was just but the culmination of massive ‘rigging’. Up to this day, he still does not buy any notion that he had lost the BDP primaries.
When all the BDP systems seemed conniving against him, Butale found solace in crossing the floor to a party that was formed just on the eve of the 2019 General Election, the BPF, which is a splinter party from the ruling BDP. This is a party that was formed as a result of an irretrievably collapsed relationship between former president Ian Khama and incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
In the midst of a hullaballoo that ensued between the duo, there was massive exodus of Khama loyalists who chose to abandon one of Africa’s longest ruling parties (the BDP), which rose to uninterrupted power in 1966, and still holding to the mantra, “there is still no alternative”.
And Butale found himself at the right place at the right time to pioneer at the BPF as the party president whilst Khama played a crucial part in the newly formed party as its patron, albeit there were concerns that the former president traversed onto a lane dedicated to Butale by making decisions that the incumbent party leader was not comfortable with.
With a 27-year period as a BDP operative, a political journey that commenced in his youthful years at the University of Botswana (UB) where he read for his law degree, when Butale exited the ruling party, he had amassed the red, black and white BDP party paraphernalia that would otherwise be heavily pulling his wardrobe down had he not doled it out to some of his old friends.
He concedes that in the 27 years he spent at the BDP although there were breaks in between when he was apolitical as a civil servant, Butale amassed the party garments that had left his wardrobe predominantly coloured red. At least, the red colour in his wardrobe has got nothing to do with the BDP.
When he quit the BDP for the BPF, Butale started on a clean slate collecting paraphernalia coloured sunrise yellow for the then new party, which he adorned for the past four years as the face of the BPF.
He has now decided to keep the BPF paraphernalia locked in his wardrobe for unexplained reasons as last year, Butale who is also a Bishop at his church, which he started during his UB days, the End Time Pentecostal Ministries, decided to form a new party, the Botswana Republican Party (BRP) amongst others with former Palapye MP, Moiseraela Goya as his deputy.
Politics had catapulted Butale to stardom when he won the Tati West parliamentary constituency in 2014 to join the 11th Parliament, a term that lapsed in 2019 when he lost the seat to the BDP’s Mavange. During his days at the BDP, at least he had the opportunity to be chauffeur driven as Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry.
But, that’s not where Butale’s vision is. Born and raised in Gaborone, Butale who hails from the North East headquarters in Masunga, has always harboured a dream of becoming the State President, whether he will make it under the BRP is another issue. At least, he has been the first president of the BPF (2019-2023) and last year in November when a new political party called the BRP was formed, he became its founding president. Perhaps, Butale’s urge to be a State President is born out of a ‘prophesy’ that one of his daughters gave him years ago that he is destined to become a State President and he has been living this prophesy, albeit through thick and thin.
In 2019 after losing a bid to contest the General Election under the BDP ticket, the party had suspended him and upon realising that the case might drag to post polls, he opted to quit the BDP. He did not give up as he was able to search for a new political home and he found it at the BPF and failed elections. As if that was not enough, Butale’s well-documented political journey hints that trouble had now become his second nature. His leadership of the BPF was characterised by factional fights at the courts of law. He won some but finally failed to convince the courts that he was the rightful president of the BPF as his ouster came just easily after protracted battles that he seemed to be winning, but finally lost. MP Mephato Reatile was quickly brought in as the BPF president.
That was just how Butale fell from the helm of the BPF amid concerns that he was not liked by the Khamas (Tshekedi and Ian) as they long wished him out of the party they suddenly considered to be theirs. He was concerned most of the time that the Khama brothers treated him more like a ‘caretaker’ than the real helmsman.
At some stage, Butale faced rape allegations that seemed to have discredited him a great deal within the political party and just socially for a man of God that he is. Interestingly, Butale was never charged criminally nor disciplinarily within the BPF, yet he was expected to carry the burden of a sexual misconduct allegation, which has diametrically shaken even his marriage.
Despite all what he has gone through, Butale is steadfast that no matter what, he will attain his dream. He still oozes faith and confidence of him that being the State President is attainable.Biblically, what is faith? Perhaps, as a man of the cloth, Butale draws inspiration from the book of Hebrews 11:1 “... faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It is truism that central feature of faith is confidence or trust. Thus faith means putting your trust in God and having confidence that he will fulfil his promises. A father of five children, four girls and boy, Butale is still stuck to the prophecy given by one of his daughters, (whose prophesies are never void and empty) but always spot on. He is keeping his faith against all odds that one day, his master will help him attain his dream. He is not into politics for the fun of it, but with a deliberate intention of spiritually moving mountains and causing the rivers to dry up. Butale’s faith in politics is buoyed strongly by the prophesy the daughter gave years ago and this seems to be a thread that is keeping him going even in the face of challenges that he continues to endure. Giving up and abandoning politics for anything else, does not seem part of the plans of entrepreneur and owner of Morongwa Security Company in which he blames its struggles on the underhand tactics of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS).
Residents of Masunga in the Tati West constituency are waiting with bated breath for the new party’s launch, which has been incessantly postponed in what has left opinion leaders believing that the new party is struggling. Butale is, however, upbeat that the postponements of the party launch are a result of their efforts to keep up with the upsurge of numbers.
The man of faith is insistent that the BRP will finally be launched during the President’s Day Holidays in July in Masunga. He believes that their inaugural meeting will attract multitudes and will afford an opportunity to flaunt the power of the new party in a big way. The launch of the BRP in essence will provide a test of Butale’s leadership prowess and organisational abilities.
The BRP colours are navy, which is the predominant colour followed by white and then tinge of red. An explainer shows that navy creatively represents a serious and professional part of the people, demonstrating the party’s commitment to changing lives especially of youth that cover 60% of the population. The red symbolises the hard times the people have fallen upon and their bleeding hearts. The party wants to free the people from the hardships they are subjected to and across the genders. The white simply signifies peace and prosperity that the party yearns for Batswana.
From a cursory glance, the BRP is yet to hit the ground running and it might struggle a bit in the 2024 General Election slated for October this year, which might witness the Butale prophesy and faith failing to live up to expectation. It remains doubtful if the BRP would be able to outwit the BPF from whence it came from.
In one of the previous interviews, Butale’s shared his opinions about some political leaders:MasisiHe came into office as a time the country was gripped by COVID-19 and can do much better as a leader
BokoHe describes him as a brilliant academic who never came to class with a note book but just with a chalk and his brain
SaleshandoAt some stage, I thought he will become State President of Botswana. If he maintains that youthful exuberance, he would become the President indeed. He however, highlighted that it seems the world has beaten Salshando too hard.