President Duma Boko’s decision to avoid publicly confronting Zimbabwe’s deepening political crisis during his April 2026 state visit to Harare has come under renewed scrutiny.
The criticism comes at a time when the two countries have also become increasingly linked by humanitarian cooperation.
Regional and South African political analyst, Ralph Mathekga has accused Boko and other regional leaders of looking away as President Emmerson Mnangagwa tightens his grip on power.
Mathekga, a political, social and economic researcher with Geopolitical Intelligence Services (GIS) places Boko alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among regional leaders whose domestic pressures have influenced their approach to Zimbabwe.
According to Mathekga, Boko ‘shied away from the political crisis in Zimbabwe’ during his April visit. Instead, Mathekga notes, Boko focused on bilateral relations and solidarity between Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Mathekga’s assessment raised questions over the limits of Botswana’s new government’s diplomatic approach to Harare particularly given the country’s long-standing reputation for democratic stability and its historical willingness under former president Ian Khama. ‘Botswana under former President Ian Khama … often called out Zimbabwe for deviating from democratic practices,’ he argues.
Boko visited Zimbabwe from April 21 to 23 for the fifth session of the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. He was hosted by Mnangagwa and co-chaired bilateral discussions covering political, economic, security and other areas of cooperation.
At the time, the visit was presented as an opportunity to deepen relations between the two neighbouring states. Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe and Botswana should leverage their natural resources to improve the lives of their citizens, while describing trade and investment relations as showing ‘steady and encouraging progress.’
But Mathekga argues that the diplomatic niceties came against the backdrop of an increasingly serious political crisis in Zimbabwe.
In his latest GIS analysis titled ‘Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe turns more autocratic,’ Mathekga argues that Mnangagwa has moved further away from democratic practices and that the response of regional leaders has been inadequate.
The analyst points to the 2026 constitutional amendment extending presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, effectively keeping Mnangagwa in office until 2030 and postponing elections scheduled for 2028. He also notes that the amendment removes direct presidential elections, with future presidents to be chosen by parliament.
Mathekga describes the development as part of a broader political deterioration. He says the regional response has been characterised by silence.
‘When it comes to setting Zimbabwe on a democratic path and toward possible economic recovery, President Mnangagwa is not only moving the goalposts, he is tearing them down altogether,’ Mathekga argues.
His criticism places Botswana and South Africa within the same regional pattern. ‘Regional leaders battling their own domestic challenges will continue to look away as Zimbabwe falters further,’ he says.
Mathekga argues that Boko and Ramaphosa face their own pressures, including economic hardship, restless youth and problems within their respective public health systems. He argues that Mnangagwa is exploiting a fragmented international environment and the domestic difficulties confronting neighbouring governments.
‘He is well aware of the region’s troubled democracies, where political leaders are too preoccupied with their own domestic survival to weigh in on the crisis in Zimbabwe,’ Mathekga says. He notes that for Botswana, the relationship with Zimbabwe also has a practical dimension.
According to Mathekga, in October 2025, Zimbabwe reportedly assisted Botswana with an emergency consignment of antiretroviral medicine. The episode underlines the increasingly interdependent relationship between the two neighbours.
Meanwhile, in September this year, Zimbabwe is reported to have also donated 10 tonnes of food supplies to communities in drought-prone Bobirwa District. The food was delivered to Mophato Volunteers through ZimAid, Zimbabwe’s foreign assistance programme which operates with the country’s Civil Protection Unit and private-sector partners.
Mathekga’s interest in Botswana’s political landscape is not new. In August 2024, before Botswana’s historic elections, Mathekga warned that the then ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) faced a serious challenge from the opposition. He observed at the time that the regional trend towards declining dominance by long-ruling liberation parties could reach Botswana. He wrote that the 2024 election ‘could bring an end’ to the BDP’s rule and that voters could weaken the party even if opposition parties remained fragmented.
That assessment, which formed part of an article carried by Sunday Standard, preceded the BDP’s historic loss of power after six decades and Boko’s rise to the presidency through the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The government did not respond to Sunday Standard’s emailed request for comment. Press Secretary to Office of the President, Emang Mutapati requested a signed media questionnaire, which was duly signed and returned to her. The Zimbabwean embassy in Gaborone also did not respond to Sunday Standard queries.