{"id":82802,"date":"2026-04-07T11:32:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens"},"modified":"2026-04-07T12:06:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T12:06:39","slug":"bpf-rift-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens","title":{"rendered":"BPF Rift Deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong><\/span><b>An escalating power struggle within the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has taken a dramatic turn, with one faction rejecting an elective congress called by interim president Dr Keorapetse Joy Muzila and instead announcing a parallel gathering slated for Mahalapye in August.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>GALEBOTSWE FACTION CHALLENGES INTERIM LEADERSHIP<\/p>\n<p>The faction aligned to Lieutenant general (retired) Gaolatlhe Galebotswe has openly dismissed Dr Muzila\u2019s authority, setting the stage for a potential showdown that could further fracture the party.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in an interview with The Botswana Gazette, faction spokesperson Modiri Jojo Lucas said they do not recognize the legitimacy of the July 18 elective congress called by Dr Muzila.<\/p>\n<p>MUZILA\u2019S LEGITIMACY QUESTIONED<\/p>\n<p>Lucas argued that Dr Muzila has no constitutional standing to act as interim president, claiming she relinquished her leadership position when she resigned as vice president in November last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo our surprise, she is resurfacing from nowhere and claiming to be an interim president,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cThere is nothing that qualifies her to hold that position. The only position she could possibly claim is that of vice president, not president.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He further asserted that Dr Muzila is currently \u201cjust an ordinary BPF member without any portfolio,\u201d urging party members to disregard her directive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are advising members to ignore her letter and instead focus on the elective congress we have scheduled for August 29 in Mahalapye,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>PARALLEL CONGRESS SET<\/p>\n<p>Lucas confirmed that their faction is moving ahead with preparations for the Mahalapye congress, which they insist is the legitimate platform to resolve the party\u2019s leadership questions.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to convene a separate congress underscores the deepening divisions within the BPF, with both camps now laying claim to authority and legitimacy.<\/p>\n<p>RIVAL FACTION SUPPORTS JULY CONGRESS<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the rival faction led by Lawrence Ookeditse has thrown its weight behind Dr Muzila\u2019s call for a July congress.<\/p>\n<p>Spokesperson Ogaufi Nthobelang told The Botswana Gazette that they fully acknowledge and support the decision taken by Dr Muzila.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe welcome the decision and are looking forward to the elective congress,\u201d Nthobelang said, signaling their readiness to participate in the July 18 gathering.<\/p>\n<p>PARTY FACES DEEPENING CRISIS<\/p>\n<p>The emergence of two competing congresses highlights an intensifying factional war within the BPF, raising concerns about the party\u2019s cohesion and future.<\/p>\n<p>With both sides digging in and mobilizing supporters around rival events, the coming months are likely to test the party\u2019s unity, as members are forced to choose between competing leadership claims and divergent paths forward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Botswana<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. An escalating power struggle within the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has taken a dramatic turn, with one faction rejecting an elective congress called by interim president Dr Keorapetse Joy Muzila and instead announcing a parallel gathering slated for Mahalapye in August. GALEBOTSWE FACTION CHALLENGES INTERIM LEADERSHIP The faction aligned to Lieutenant general [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,10,244],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-82802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-parties","category-to-homepage","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BPF Rift Deepens - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An escalating power struggle within the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has taken a dramatic turn, with one faction re ...\" \/>\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\/bpf-rift-deepens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BPF Rift Deepens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An escalating power struggle within the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) has taken a dramatic turn, with one faction re ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens\" \/>\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=\"2026-04-07T11:32:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T12:06:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775550823.172951.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\/bpf-rift-deepens#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"BPF Rift Deepens\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T11:32:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T12:06:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775550823.172951.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"parties\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/bpf-rift-deepens\",\"name\":\"BPF Rift Deepens - 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