Butale was pardoned following a lengthy suspension last year, which the party decided only this year to lift without his reinstatement as president while he is being investigated for misconduct and putting the party’s name into disrepute.
Even though Butale’s attorney, Sam Plaatjie tried to explain to the court that the BPF disciplinary hearing has no power to restrain him from exercising his presidential duties and powers, the attorney could not state why his client had sat on his right to appeal the matter.
The issue arose after Justice Phuthego had asked the attorney if indeed his client has read paragraph six of the decision made by the committee and wanted to know why he did not challenge the decision.
“Why didn’t your client take the disciplinary committee to task if he did not agree with the contents of the letter? Is this letter not written by the organ of the party? Since you want the court to discard the letter what does the law say?” Phuthego asked. Paragraph six of the BPF letter the disciplinary committee has written to Butale states: “The disciplinary committee also decides that the respondent (Butale) remains interdicted from discharging duties and functions of BPF president until the conclusion of the case.
The president of the party is too important and powerful an office for one to occupy while being investigated and it would rather be heavy on the committee to continue to make a president in office appear before it. It is, therefore, this committee’s decision that the respondent remains interdicted from discharging the duties of the office of the BPF as occupying the office would easily enable obstruction of our investigations into this matter.” Still, on the matter, Butale’s attorney said his client was not served with a charge sheet.
“They want to restrain him due to the national congress, but there is no writ for elections before court or minutes of the National Executive Committee (NEC) which took the decision on the issue. All is just hearsay.
The constitution is clear on how the congress has to be done. There has to be documentation that the congress will be held. There is no documentary evidence. BPF secretary-general is not aware of it.
There is no urgency in this matter and the said letter is unconstitutional,” Plaatjie said. However, acting president Caroline Lesang’s attorney Osego Mapiki said Butale was restored as an ordinary member, not a president as the latter thinks. She urged that Butale had the right to appeal the decision of the disciplinary committee which he had not done.
When asked to provide evidence if the NEC met, the attorney told the court that they forgot to file the minutes and names of members who attended. “I did not file the minutes My Lord, but I can provide them within 15 minutes if the court would allow me to do so,” she said.
On the issue of the congress documentation, Mapiki had failed to file congress material which the judge said the court cannot assume will be from the said congress.
Meanwhile, the judge said the ruling on the matter will be delivered on Tuesday morning.
The matter came before court after BPF vice president Lesang made an urgent application for court to interdict Butale from making presentations of himself as the BPF president.
