{"id":32644,"date":"2023-08-17T15:29:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=32644"},"modified":"2023-08-17T14:42:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T14:42:57","slug":"mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme","title":{"rendered":"Mthimkhulu accuses Saleshando of using BCP to run personal \u2018pyramid scheme\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The Societies Amendment Bill gave the Assistant Minister of State President, Meshack Mthimkhulu, an opportunity to launch a baseless attack against the Maun West MP, Dumelang Saleshando. Two days later however, the minister\u2019s words were removed from the parliamentary record of proceedings.<\/b><\/p>\n

First not mentioning names but leaving no doubt whom he was talking about, Mthimkhulu, who is also the Gaborone South MP, slipped in details that compromised the identity of the subject. He said that the house of one opposition leader was to be auctioned off on August 25 and a short while thereafter, identified that leader as the president of the Botswana Congress Party. While he didn\u2019t mention that leader, it was clear that he was talking about Saleshando. In the next breath, he dropped all pretence and did mention him by name.<\/p>\n

Mthimkhulu said that the new bill had been purposefully crafted to prevent fraud that takes the form of politicians using pyramid schemes to raise money which they then use to pay for personal expenditure \u2013 like settling debts. Such schemes, he alleged, are facilitated through otherwise legitimate political fundraising. He argued that the new law will impose a strict requirement on political parties to \u201caccount for funds.\u201d The latter assertion was contested by the Leader of the Opposition, Dithapelo Keorapetse, who said that, as it is, Botswana\u2019s political parties are already being audited.<\/p>\n

A detailed explanation of how this scheme works would have been helpful but Mthimkhulu never gave one and the MPs themselves never asked him to do that. Then again, it could have been that the Assistant Minister and his audience knew how such scheme operates but they forgot the national audience. To objection that he shouldn\u2019t raise what appears to be a personal matter that has absolutely no relationship with the bill, Mthimkhulu said that such relationship exists because some political leaders use the fac\u0327ade of legitimate political fundraising to relieve themselves of financial stress. In part, the Bill disqualifies those in debt from holding political office.<\/p>\n

Numerous interjections by opposition MPs would prompt the Minister of State President, Kabo Morwaeng, to implore those MPs to let Mthimkhulu make his contribution unhindered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf what he is saying pains you, just endure that pain for 10 minutes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Francistown MP, Ignatius Moswaane, said that Mthimkhulu\u2019s contribution, which he determined to have elements of \u201cdefamation\u201d and \u201ccharacter assassination\u201d was \u201ca project to destroy Saleshando\u2019s career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mthimkhulu, who is a lawyer, also faulted BCP MPs to have contravened already existing law with regard to floor-crossing.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2019 general election, the BCP joined the Umbrella for Democratic Change, a loose opposition coalition, and emerged as the best-performing party in terms of the number of parliamentary seats won. However, the party failed to find common ground with the Botswana National Front and has since left UDC. Mthimkhulu said that in terms of the law on floor-crossing, BCP MPs should have forfeited their seats and didn\u2019t deserve to be in parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cChase them out,\u201d he said to the Speaker. \u201cThey are dishonest, starting with their president.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was on Wednesday night when Parliament ran over its normal business hours to exhaust pending business. On Friday morning, Speaker Phandu Skelemani ruled that Mthimkhulu\u2019s allegations were baseless and should be \u201cexpunged\u201d (removed) from the Hansard. Going back decades, MPs across the board typically abuse their immunity from prosecution by making often outrageously defamatory statements inside the house. They wouldn\u2019t dare repeat such statements outside the house (where their speech is not protected) because they would be hit with defamation lawsuits they would have no defence against.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The Societies Amendment Bill gave the Assistant Minister of State President, Meshack Mthimkhulu, an opportunity to launch a baseless attack against the Maun West MP, Dumelang Saleshando. Two days later however, the minister\u2019s words were removed from the parliamentary record of proceedings. First not mentioning names but leaving no doubt whom he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":32643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-32644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nMthimkhulu accuses Saleshando of using BCP to run personal \u2018pyramid scheme\u2019 - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Societies Amendment Bill gave the Assistant Minister of State President, Meshack Mthimkhulu, an opportunity to la ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mthimkhulu accuses Saleshando of using BCP to run personal \u2018pyramid scheme\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Societies Amendment Bill gave the Assistant Minister of State President, Meshack Mthimkhulu, an opportunity to la ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-17T15:29:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/08\/sm_1692269502.896374.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mthimkhulu accuses Saleshando of using BCP to run personal \u2018pyramid scheme\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-17T15:29:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\"},\"wordCount\":628,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/08\/sm_1692269502.896374.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/mthimkhulu-accuses-saleshando-of-using-bcp-to-run-personal-pyramid-scheme\",\"name\":\"Mthimkhulu accuses Saleshando of using BCP to run personal \u2018pyramid scheme\u2019 - 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