BLF writes to Patrice Motsepe, says they can’t be intimidated or bought ‘like Malema’

In a letter in response to a legal threat from billionaire South African businessman Patrice Motsepe, Black First Land First has told Motsepe and his lawyers why they don’t intend to apologise or desist from public statements about his or his sister’s involvement in alleged regime-change efforts in Botswana.

Motsepe and his lawyers responded on Friday to utterances from Mngxitama at a press conference this week at which Mngxitama had accused Radebe, the wife of Energy Minister Jeff Radebe, and her brother of underhanded political and business dealings in Botswana.

Radebe and her associate, Sandton businessman Malcolm X, have had their freedom to come and go into Botswana as they please revoked by that government, meaning they will need visas in future if they wish to attend to their mining interests in Botswana.

Patrice Motsepe took issue on Friday with Mngxitama having alleged that his sister had ambitions to take over the diamond industry in Botswana, and that she and her wealthy brother had been involved in an alleged coup plot in the country to that end.

His lawyers said: “These remarks are all untruthful.” The lawyers added that Mngxitama’s comments were injurious to their client’s dignity, were offensive, derogatory, hurtful and exposed their client to general disesteem and ill-will.

Motsepe’s lawyers demanded that Mngxitama and the BLF give a written undertaking by Sunday afternoon that they would refrain from making any further allegedly defamatory remarks, or the lawyers would institute civil action against him him in the high court.

Far from apologising, Mngxitama released a statement on Saturday morning in which he made further written accusations against Radebe and Motsepe, once again welcoming the decision of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government to impose travel restrictions on Bridgette Radebe due to the accusations of her being “involved in a regime change campaign to remove President Masisi from power and replace him with Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, who is backed by Masisi’s predecessor, Ian Khama”.

He repeated the allegation that Radebe was “being used” by supposed “imperialist interests to create hostility towards President Mokgweetsi Masisi in return for securing her own mining interests”.

Despite Motsepe and his lawyers explicitly having shown exception to his being associated with the phrase “white monopoly capital”, Mngxitama again alleged that Radebe and Motsepe were working “in service of the interests of settler white monopoly capital in cahoots with global capitalist imperialism”.

He further repeated allegations that Bridgette Motsepe had attempted to buy the elective conference in Botswana with P60 million (R80 million) via the agency of former president Ian Khama – in favour of Venson-Moitoi against Masisi.

The BLF referenced a news report in Botswana’s Sunday Standard from 1 April in which allegations were made in the run-up to the BDP’s elective conference ahead of the October presidential elections.

The article’s authors claimed they had listened to “audio tapes in which Bridgette Motsepe, [Botswana public relations expert] Kabelo Binns and Malcolm X are discussing, among other things how they were going to move the funds to finance Venson-Moitoi’s campaign”.

The article further alleged that Bridgette Radebe had sent R10 million to Botswana during the last week of March 2019 in pursuance of “big mining concessions in Botswana”.

The BLF called for Bridgette Radebe’s alleged conduct to be investigated and “appropriate action” to be taken.

They further called on Botswana’s government to finalise its investigation into reports that Patrice Motsepe had allegedly “donated R22 million to Venson-Moitoi’s campaign”, including reports that this money had supposedly been “smuggled” into Botswana.

Below is the party’s Sunday letter to Motsepe published in full, and republished without prejudice:

We received your letter dated 26 April 2019 demanding that we give an undertaking by 16:00 today that we shall make no further comment with regard to the alleged regime change activities of your client, the billionaire Mr Motsepe.

We are not in a position to give such an undertaking because it would be tantamount to self censorship and practically bowing to intimidation via the abuse of the law and its processes by one of the wealthiest families in South Africa.

We hold that money should not trump the truth and therefore we stand by the statements we have made. We take the alleged interference in the affairs of a sovereign state as a serious matter.

The allegations against your client and his associates are damning, and the evidence is overwhelming. Our view is that Mr Motsepe must desist with his attempts to bully BLF into silence and submission.

We have seen how that strategy worked with Julius Malema, who initially announced that he would be revealing evidence of how your client benefited from the R1.4 trillion [independent power producers] procurement at Eskom.

It took just one meeting and perhaps a bit of exchanging of cash to buy the silence of Malema.

BLF is not for sale and we would not be intimidated by the power of money.

Your client would assist us a great deal towards making any undertaking if he can tell us what exactly is untruthful in our statements.

Right now his demand is a blanket demand for silence. As indicated above, we shall never self-censor. We wait for your client to clarify which of the following suggestions are not true:

1. Is his sister Bridgette Motsepe [Radebe] not accused of regime change in Botswana?

2. Is Bridgette Motsepe [Radebe] not accused of being assisted by your client to buy the conference of the rulling party in Botswana?

3. Is it not true that both Bridgette Radebe and your client have vested interests in minerals?

4. Is it not true that diamonds are the main mineral product of export in Botswana?

5. Is it not true that your client’s sister is married to the Minister of Energy Jeff Radebe?

6. Is it not true that the state president, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, is married to your client’s other sister, Dr Tshepo Motsepe?

7. Is it not true that your client’s family is one of the most powerful families in SA by virtue of the said familial ties?

8. Is it not true that the same modus operandi of stealing an elective conference attempted with the Botswana ruling party was used to steal the African National Congress (ANC) elective conference in Nasrec in December 2017?

9. Is it not true that the State President Cyril Ramaphosa used money from Bosasa to buy the ANC conference?

10. Is it not true that the attempted capture of the Botswana ruling party was allegedly also coordinated with the United States of America (USA) imperialist forces?

11. Is it not true that Bridgette Motsepe [Radebe] had sent R10 million to Botswana during the last week in March 2019 and that Patrice Motsepe had donated R22 million which was smuggled into Botswana, in furtherance of the alleged regime change campaign?

As soon as we receive satisfactory responses to the above, we shall indicate our next cause of action.

Update: On Sunday evening Motsepe’s lawyers advised the BLF that Motsepe was travelling abroad and would advise them on his instructions later.

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