Khama magnet misses target in Jwaneng
Innocent Selatlhwa | Thursday October 31, 2024 17:17
Reatile was to be launched by party patron and campaign manager Ian Khama in an event scheduled to take the whole day. Unfortunately for Reatile, Jwaneng-Mabutsane residents didn't show up in good numbers. Following his return from self-imposed exile in September, the former president kicked off a national tour campaigning for his party alongside Reatile. The BPF president, Reatile, was initially allocated two full days to spend with Khama in his constituency on October 25 and 26. On the first day, they hosted four rallies in different settlements of the constituency.
From the pictures and videos shared, one could tell that the 'magnet' wasn't as attractive as was expected. It is understood that upon realising the tough task ahead, instead of spending the whole Saturday at the launch in Jwaneng, Mogoditshane was added to Khama's schedule, and he would launch Reatile on Saturday morning. Only a handful had arrived at the venue, which looked like little effort was put into organising when Khama arrived. He briefly spoke to those who gathered and called on them to vote for Reatile and his councillors. It came to the fore then that Reatile is supported by just 11 council candidates in a constituency of 19 wards. Perhaps to avoid embarrassment, unlike in other areas, there were no live videos or pictures from the event shared on Khama's, Reatile's, or and the BPF Facebook pages.
When journalists recently quizzed whether the so-called Khama magic still existed, Reatile said only Batswana would know. He also expressed confidence that Khama, who is their campaign manager, would secure overwhelming support for them. “We know that he has a magnet, and as he leads the campaigns as a national campaign manager, people should know that he has that morale and dignity. When we grew up, we heard that he could turn into a fly,” Reatile said. Reatile won the constituency under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) ticket in 2019, garnering 8,466 votes. Shawn Ntlhaile of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) got 5,466 votes, Alliance for Progressives through Oodirwa Kwenje got 934 votes, while independent candidate Heii Alexander got 144. In 2014, Ntlhaile won the constituency for the UDC with 6,613 votes. Reatile, who had quit the Botswana National Front (BNF) after winning the constituency under its ticket in 2009, ran on the BDP ticket and garnered 6,069 votes.
Reatile is being challenged for the seat by the BDP's John Motsumi, the UDC's Omphemetse Kwapa, and Botswana Congress Party's Kgakololo Ramoswaane. There is speculation that Reatile might be regretting the decision to remove the BPF from the UDC, as the support he anticipated seems to be dwindling.