Nehemiah Modubule | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 1 August 2003 – 7 November 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Koma |
| Succeeded by | Otsweletse Moupo |
| Member of Parliament for Lobatse | |
| In office 17 October 1999 – 29 August 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Otlaadisa Koosaletse |
| Succeeded by | Sadique Kebonang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nehemiah Mmoloki Modubule 6 February 1958 Lobatse, Botswana |
| Political party | Botswana Movement for Democracy (since 2010) |
| Education | University of Botswana and Swaziland |
| Profession | Accountant Politician |
Nehemiah Mmoloki Modubule (born 6 February 1958), is a Motswana accountant and politician. He served as a member of the National Assembly of Botswana, representing the Lobatse constituency from 1999 to 2014, and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2003 to 2005. Additionally, Modubule held the position of president of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) from 2022 to 2023. Notably, he has been a controversial figure due to his frequent floor crossing, contesting elections since 1984 under different political parties (BNF, PUSO and the BMD) consistently opposing the Botswana Democratic Party government. In the 2009 election, Modubule made history by becoming the first only candidate elected to the National Assembly as an independent in Botswana.
Early life and education
editModubule was born in Lobatse in 1958, completed his secondary education at Madiba Secondary School and graduated from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1981 with a degree in accounting and business. From 1985 to 1999, he served as a human resources manager at the First National Bank of Botswana, maintaining this position until his initial election as a Member of Parliament.
Political career
editAfter completing his studies, Modubule joined the Botswana National Front, the main opposition party and ran as a candidate for the National Assembly for the first time in the 1984 election, in the Francistown constituency. Since the Botswana People's Party was the strongest opposition party in the region, Modubule performed poorly and placed third with 10% of the vote, although he managed to exceed the percentage of votes required to retain his deposit. In the 1989 election, Modubule stood as a BNF candidate in the Lobatse/Barolong constituency and this time placed second with a little under 34% of the votes.
Ahead of the 1994 elections, Lobatse split from Barolong and a separate constituency was created for the town. Modubule sought to be a BNF candidate in the elections but lost the party primaries to trade unionist Otlaadisa Koosaletse. Modubule separated from the BNF and ran as a candidate for the minority United Socialist Party, which until then had been a force within the BNF. Modubule obtained only 4% of the vote, failing to retain his deposit and Koosaletse won the seat by a wide margin. After Koosaletse left the BNF in 1998 to join the newly-formed Botswana Congress Party led by Michael Dingake, Modubule returned to the BNF and this time managed to become the party's candidate in the Lobatse constituency. Benefiting from the strong BNF structure in the south of the country, Modubule was elected with 51% of the vote.
After being elected as a Member of Parliament, Modubule became an important figure within the BNF. Following Kenneth Koma's retirement from the party leadership after almost twenty-five years as its leader, Modubule replaced him as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly since his elected successor, Otsweletse Moupo, was not a member. In the 2004 election, Modubule easily retained the Lobatse seat with 50% of the vote, defeating both the BDP and Koosaletse (who was the BCP presidential candidate). Since Moupo was defeated at Selebi-Phikwe West and found himself out of Parliament, Modubule continued as Leader of the Opposition for the next year. Finally, in October 2005, Moupo won a by-election in Gaborone West North and was able to take over as Leader of the Opposition, supplanting Modubule. Modubule and Moupo maintained a constant conflict during the rest of the legislature. Modubule founded the "Temporary Platform", a space for internal dissent against Moupo's leadership in the BNF, accusing it of being ineffective and unable to represent a viable alternative to the BDP government. Faced with the growing internal crisis of the party, Modubule and his supporters were expelled in 2008 and ran outside the BNF as independents in the 2009 elections. Modubule was the only one of the Temporary Platform candidates who retained his seat, with 43%, by a margin of 1.18pp. BDP candidate Moggie Mbaakanyi contested the result demanding a recount, but the High Court dismissed his claims in January 2010.
Modubule later joined the liberal Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), a breakaway BDP faction that split from the party during Ian Khama's presidency. The BMD reached an agreement with the BNF to found the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ahead of the 2014 elections. Modubule sought re-election in Lobatse under the UDC banner. Despite the largely unfavorable climate for the national ruling party and having the support of almost all opposition parties except the BCP and having retained the seat twice before in much more complicated conditions, Modubule this time was defeated by Sadique Kebonang, candidate of the BDP, by a margin of 4.45pp.
After the BMD was expelled from the UDC for refusing to give up seats to the BCP upon joining the coalition, Modubule remained in the party and when the party decided to contest the 2019 elections alone, he was its candidate again in Lobatse, winning only 1.53% of the votes and losing his deposit. Despite this defeat, Modubule was elected unopposed president of the BMD in October 2022, pledging to contest only the 2024 elections. However, Modubule was accused of seeking to "destroy" the BMD from within and having intentions of returning to the BNF and the UDC, although he denied these accusations. Finally, becoming pessimistic about the party's electoral prospects and resigned from the leadership after less than a year and ended up handing control of the party to Pastor Thuso Tiego in September 2023.