Category: Sunday Standard

For Botswana journalist, opposition politicians and activists, June 2025 may have marked the end of one of the country’s most controversial surveillance chapters – or the beginning of a far more secretive and sophisticated one.

While researchers have observed the apparent disappearance of infrastructure linked to the Predator spyware system, they cannot say whether the platform was shut down or simply replaced by a more advanced capability operating beyond public view.

What is however evident is that the new Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) inherited and for some months appeared to use the controversial Predator spyware, a sophisticated surveillance platform that has become the subject of international controversy over allegations of abuse against journalists, politicians, activists and civil society figures.

In March 2024, during former President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s final year in office, Cybersecurity researchers at Recorded Future publicly identified Botswana for the first time as a suspected operator or customer for the controversial Predator spyware system, placing the country alongside states linked to one of the world’s most scrutinized surveillance technologies.

The disclosure should have triggered immediate cessation. Instead, new technical findings suggest the Botswana- linked infrastructure remained active long after the public exposure and change of government.

According to Recorded Future, the Botswana-linked Predator cluster appeared to continue operating until at least June 2025, when researchers observed it cease communications with higher-level Predator infrastructure.

Researchers cautioned that the apparent cessation could indicate either a shutdown or a migration to a more sophisticated and concealed network.

Predator is among the world’s most controversial surveillance tools. Developed by the Intellexa consortium, the spyware has been linked internationally to surveillance operations targeting journalists, opposition politicians, lawyers and human rights defenders.

The technology allows operators to gain deep access to mobile phones, potentially harvesting messages, contacts, photographs, location information and other sensitive data.

The United States and European authorities have imposed sanctions and restrictions on entities connected to the Predator ecosystems amid concerns over its misuse.

Yet despite the international controversy both the former and the current governments have never publicly explained the country’s appearance in Recorded Future’s findings.

An assessment by Insikt Group, the threat research division of cybersecurity company Recorded Future, found evidence that Botswana continued to feature in investigations into the deployment of Predator spyware between 2024 and 2025.

The report, which assesses whether a country’s history of digital surveillance poses a risk to foreign nationals and travelers based on its alignment with international privacy and digital rights principles, identified at least sixteen countries that deployed Predator or Candiru spyware during the period under review.

‘From 2024 to 2026, Insikt Group investigations found evidence that at least sixteen countries – including Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Mozambique, Oman, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Trinidad and Tobago – had deployed Predator or Candiru spyware,’ the report states.

The findings place Botswana alongside a list of countries increasingly scrutinized for their use of highly invasive surveillance technologies capable of covertly accessing a target’s phone, communications, location data, contacts and files.

Insikt Group revealed that in February 2024 it identified new infrastructure associated with Predator spyware, indicating likely continued use in several countries, including Botswana.

‘Botswana and the Philippines represented new Predator customers,’ the report noted, suggesting that Botswana’s adoption of the spyware is relatively recent.

In 2024, Sunday Standard reported that Botswana has been listed as the latest country to import Predator Spyware-a hacking tool that exploits vulnerabilities on cellphones and computers to capture the target’s text messages, calls, emails, photos, and location. Predator is part of the Intellexa Consortium which was this week banned by the US government.

The US Treasury Department announced its first-ever set of sanctions against a commercial spyware entity Tuesday after technology developed by the Greece-based Intellexa Consortium was used to target U.S. government officials, journalists and policy experts.

While Botswana was one of only three countries in the report not assessed as posing a medium or high state-surveillance risk, its continued appearance in Predator-related investigations is likely to intensify concerns among digital rights advocates.

The report notes that, with the exception of Botswana, Mongolia and Trinidad and Tobago, all identified countries were assessed as carrying either ‘medium’ or ‘high’ surveillance risks, largely due to limited oversight and histories of misuse of surveillance capabilities.

The broader trend has already produced documented cases of abuse elsewhere. Insikt Group noted that subsequent investigations revealed continued use of commercial spyware against members of civil society, journalists and activists.

According to the report, one of the most alarming examples emerged in February 2026, when Amnesty International reported that Angolan journalist Teixeira had been targeted with Predator spyware in 2024-the first forensically confirmed case involving a member of Angolan civil society.

The reports indicate that the disclosure has renewed international concerns that spyware originally marketed as a tool for fighting crime and terrorism is increasingly being used to monitor critics, reporters and political opponents.

The report suggests that Botswana’s inclusion in repeated Predator-related findings is likely to fuel calls for greater transparency over government surveillance capabilities, judicial oversight and the legal safeguards protecting citizens from unlawful digital intrusion.

Botswana spyware mystery timeline

Before March 2024

The public new nothing about any possible Botswana connection to Predator spyware. If any procurement, testing or deployment occurred, it happened outside public view

March 2024

Cybersecurity researchers from Recorded Future’s Inskit Group publicly identify Botswana as one of a number of countries linked to infrastructure associated with Predator spyware. The disclosure places Botswana alongside a small group of countries connected to one of the world’s most controversial surveillance technologies. The findings attract international attention. Questions immediately arise over who may be operating the system and whether it is active inside Botswana.

April-June 2024

Botswana authorities respond cautiously. BOCRA indicates that it found no evidence that Predator is operating on domestic communication networks. However, no detailed public explanation is provided regarding Botswana’s appearance in the Recorded Future’s findings. The identity of the suspected operator remains unknown, although speculations suggest it could be the DIS.

Mid- late 2024

No public investigation is announced. No government department publicly acknowledges responsibility. The controversy gradually fades from public discussion. Yet according to later technical findings, the Botswana linked infrastructure appears to remain active.

October 2024

Botswana experiences a historic political transition following national elections. A new administration that promises strict adherences to a human rights code assumes office. The Predator question remain unresolved. No public statement is issued explaining whether the new government reviewed any existing surveillance programmes.

January to May 2025

The Botswana-linked infrastructure continues to appear within the broader Predator ecosystem tracked by cybersecurity researchers. Public silence continues. No institution accepts responsibility.

June 2025

Researchers observe that the Botswana-linked infrastructure ceases communication with higher-level Predator infrastructure. This is the first significant development since the original exposure. However, the meaning remains unclear. Possible explanations include:

. The system was shut down

. The infrastructure was migrated

. Operators changed tactics

. Researchers lost visibility into the network.

. The capability was replaced. No public explanation is provided.

Francistown High Court Judge Nomsa Moatswi has set aside conviction and sentence against Mosimanegape Magapatona, a middle-aged man who was convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment by Masunga Magistrate Court accused of breaking into Masunga Post Office stealing cash and valuables worth over P400 000 from Masunga Post Office on the 17 th of February 2016.

According to the particulars of the offence, on the 17th of February 2016 Magapatona and another who was not before court acting together and in concert allegedly broke into Masunga Post Office and stole cash amounting to P216 383.25 and four laptops, four Nokia Cellphones, 4803 Mascom re-charge cards, 72 x Mascom 60.00 re-charge cards, 13 x Mascom P100.00 recharge cards, 1326 x Orange P20.00 re- charge cards, 4934 Be-Mobile 20 recharge cards and 5 Be-Mobile recharge cards. All the properties stolen including cash were valued at P466 801.45.

The accused then launched an appeal at the Francistown High Court against conviction and sentence. In his grounds of Appeal, the Appellant( Magapatona) argued that the magistrate court erred in finding that the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as non of the items stolen from Masunga Post Office were found in his possession. He also argued that none of the witnesses testified that they obtained fingerprints from him or were present when such was done.

While in its submission the State had said that the Appellant’s fingerprints matched two prints up-lifted from the Masunga Post Office, there was no evidence led during trial disclosing when these fingerprints were obtained from the Appellant and by whom.

According to court documents, during trial at the Magistrate Court none of the items allegedly seized from the Appellant were identified by any of the state witnesses as being connected to those stolen from Masunga Post Office. Instead the trial court in its judgement only invoked the doctrine of recent possession and posited that some items from Masunga Post Office were recently found on the Appellant thus identifying him and charging him of break in and theft.

From the evidence led during the trial it was established that cash in the amount of P216 383.25 was stolen from the Post Office and the Appellant’s possession upon arrest seven days later was a paltry P795 in notes and P55 in coins. The Appellant was also found in possession of a Samsung cellphone.

Giving her ruling, Justice Moatswi said the evidence adduced before the trial court was not justified and was misplaced.

‘There was no evidence led showing that the money found on the Appellant, a measly P795 was part of the P216 383.25 cash stolen from Masunga Post Office.

Coming to the cellphone found on the Appellant, there is nothing to connect it to those stolen from Masunga Post Office,it being a Samsung whilst those stolen were Nokia cellphones.I therefore find that the doctrine of recent possession did not apply in this case,’ said the Judge.

The Judge also questioned as to how the Magistrate court arrived at its verdict, when none of the prosecution witnesses testified that they actually took the finger prints that were eventually compared with those uplifted from the scene of crime.

There was also no witness in court who identified the document containing the impressions of the Appellant’s fingerprints as having been taken by such person prior to being forwarded to the Local Bureau.

‘The prosecution failed to establish nexus between the Appellant and the fingerprints allegedly obtained from him. Failure to do so renders the Appellant’s conviction, which rested primarily if not completely on fingerprints evidence liable to be set aside,’ said Justice Moatswi.

The conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court were set aside. Meanwhile the Appellant’s had prayed before court to make an order for the Police to return his vehicle which he claimed was confiscated. However there was no record before court suggesting that his vehicle was confiscated by the Police.

‘On appeal we go by the record and from the records there was never any mention of any vehicle that was produced as evidence nor was there any order by the trial court pertaining to the disposal. In the result, this Court is not in a position to make any order relating to the alleged vehicle. The Appellant is at liberty to explore relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act pertaining to items seized as Exhibits.

As cybercriminals increasingly target vulnerable members of society, Botswana’s senior citizens are leaning how to fight back. Botswana’s old timers are emerging as an important frontline in the country’s fight against digital fraud. In a bid to strengthen their defenses, Mascom Wireless recently conducted a cybersecurity workshop for elderly residents of Pitsane Village, equipping them with the knowledge needed to identify and avoid online scams.

The event was part of the Protect Our Elders Anti-Scam and Mobile Money Safety Initiative, which falls under the company’s Mascom 3-for-3 Initiative.

The initiative, run in partnership with the Botswana Police Service, aims to equip elders with practical skills to spot, avoid, and report online scams, mobile money fraud, and identity theft.

At the session, Mascom Project Coordinator Prudence Motsepe explained that the program is intended to provide senior citizens with the information they need to protect themselves from more sophisticated scams.

‘The Protect Our Elders Anti-Scam and Mobile Money Safety Initiative aims to protect senior citizens from online scams and mobile money fraud through awareness and education,’ she said.

This awareness campaign is timely, as cybercriminals continue to target people in Botswana with fake phone calls, prize scams, phishing links, and other tricks.

Constable Itumeleng Mothibi from the Botswana Police Service reported that over 200 cybercrime cases were reported between 2024 and 2025, resulting in losses of more than P10 million.

She warned that scammers often target elderly citizens because they think older people are less familiar with new technology.

‘The elderly often fall victim to such scams because they are not technologically advanced and are therefore more vulnerable to manipulation by criminals,’ she said.

Mothibi described some common tricks used by scammers. Some send fake links that, when clicked, allow criminals to access personal and financial information. Others impersonate service providers and ask people to share their PINs and passwords during fake verification calls.

Another common scam is fake prize notifications. Victims are told they have won money or prizes and are then tricked into giving personal details or sending money.

‘Scammers may call and claim you have won prize money. They then request your details or trick you into sending money. Never share your personal information with strangers and never disclose your PIN,’ she cautioned.

She urged elders to report any suspicious calls to the police right away and to ensure their SIM cards are registered only at official Mascom outlets or with authorized agents.

Constable Pono Bosa Teemane also spoke at the event, stressing that scammers continually change their methods and that staying alert is the best way to stay safe.

‘Your safety comes first. Avoid answering suspicious calls and avoid engaging with strangers who ask for personal information. Scammers are always developing new methods and strategies, and we must remain alert at all times,’ he said.

Teemane also warned elders not to share their passwords or PINs with anyone, even family members such as children or grandchildren.

‘Do not share your passwords or PIN numbers with anyone. Even people close to you can misuse that information. Protecting your personal information is your responsibility,’ he advised.

Kgosi Oagile Ernest Kepadisa welcomed the initiative and praised Mascom for bringing the campaign to the community. He also called for more partnerships to help reach more senior citizens across the country.

He suggested that groups like BotswanaPost, which handles monthly pension payments, should work together to teach pensioners about online fraud and scams.

‘The elderly need continuous education and awareness. We encourage Mascom to partner with other stakeholders so that more senior citizens can be protected from cybercrime and fraud,’ he said.

The Kgosi also encouraged residents to attend community education programmes whenever they are held.

‘People should participate in these forums because awareness helps prevent them from becoming victims of scams,’ he added.

The session also gave elders a chance to share their concerns about unregistered SIM cards and whether authorities can track down criminals after scams are reported.

In response, the Botswana Police Service assured participants that digital fraud cases can be investigated using established legal and technological methods, including court-approved orders for tracking.

Mascom also reassured the community that all new Mascom SIM cards must be registered through official channels with a valid ID before they can be activated.

Besides raising awareness, the initiative shows Mascom’s wider commitment to social responsibility through its 3-for-3 Initiative.

The program aims to make a real difference in communities by supporting projects that tackle social challenges and improve the lives of Batswana. By working with government, community leaders, and other partners, Mascom continues to promote education, digital inclusion, and community empowerment.

As Botswana’s digital economy grows, it is more important than ever for people to know how to use technology safely and confidently. Mascom’s Protect Our Elders Anti-Scam and Mobile Money Safety Initiative helps build a safer, more informed society and protects vulnerable groups from financial scams.

The main message in Pitsane was clear, scammers are getting smarter, but being aware is still the best way to fight cybercrime.

‘Never share your PIN, never trust unsolicited prize notifications, and never click suspicious links,’ was the consistent advice from both Mascom and the Botswana Police Service.

By bringing this important message straight to communities, Mascom is helping Botswana’s elders stay safe, informed, and confident in a digital world.

Botswana’s ambition to establish tourism as a cornerstone of economic diversification is being constrained by a persistent investment deficit that has left the sector lagging behind regional competitors, despite the country’s globally acclaimed wildlife resources and natural attractions.

A new study by the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) argues that Botswana remains significantly less competitive than tourism-dependent economies such as the Seychelles and Mauritius, raising questions about the sector’s capacity to serve as a viable long-term alternative to diamond-led growth.

‘However, Botswana’s tourism sector is not competitive compared to other regional countries,’ the report notes, adding that ‘Countries such as Seychelles had made huge investment in the sector, and as a result, their tourism sector had made immense contribution to the country’s economic development.’

The findings highlight a widening divergence between Botswana and some of the region’s most successful tourism economies. In the Seychelles, sustained and deliberate investment over several decades has transformed tourism into the principal driver of economic activity and employment.

According to BIDPA, the Seychelles devoted approximately 34.4 percent of export earnings to tourism capital investment between 1997 and 2015. By comparison, Botswana invested just 5.8 percent over the same period. The result has been a striking disparity in economic outcomes, with tourism accounting for nearly 59 percent of GDP and employment in the island nation.

The study contends that for tourism to make a meaningful contribution to Botswana’s economic diversification agenda, policymakers must prioritise investment in human capital, reduce economic leakages and create conditions that encourage greater private-sector participation.

‘There is need for government to promote hospitality skills (from semi-skilled to highly skilled management levels), reduce tourism leakages, and promote a conducive environment for private investment,’ the report notes.

While tourism already contributes significantly to Botswana’s economy, its impact remains well below its potential. Researchers identify inadequate infrastructure, insufficient investment, uneven service standards and limited product diversification as among the principal obstacles undermining competitiveness.

‘Factors such as quality of the infrastructure including housing, beds, internet connection, roads and other factors can make tourism competitive if they are of high standard,’ the study says.

The report arrives at a critical juncture as Botswana intensifies efforts to reduce its dependence on diamonds amid growing concerns about the sustainability of mineral-driven growth. The findings suggest that tourism possesses the potential to become a far more important economic pillar, but only if substantial investments are made to improve competitiveness across the sector.

Absent such reforms, Botswana risks squandering one of its most promising opportunities to broaden its economic base, generate employment and create a more resilient post-diamond economy. The study’s central message is clear: natural endowments alone are insufficient. Without sustained investment and strategic policy intervention, tourism is unlikely to fulfil its promise as Botswana’s next engine of growth.

In the first two pieces of this series, we examined two things: the gap between Botswana’s remarkable legal progress and the daily realities of its LGBTIQ citizens, and the psychology that sits underneath the resistance to queer inclusion; the fear, the fragile masculinity, the religion weaponised against compassion.

But arguments, however well constructed, can keep the reader at a comfortable distance. They can make injustice feel structural. Something that happens to a category of people, rather than to a specific human being who once sat watching Mokaragana in a relative’s living room, quietly learning to make themselves smaller.

So in this piece, I want to do something different. I want to come down from the level of argument entirely and sit with the human cost; the cost that does not appear in court judgments or policy briefs. The cost that accumulates quietly, over years, in the life of a person who has spent their whole existence being told, in a hundred different ways, that who they are is too much, not enough, or simply wrong.

Because this is the part of the conversation Botswana consistently avoids. We debate the law. We debate religion. We debate culture. But we rarely stop long enough to ask: what is this actually doing to people?

We have become very sophisticated at debating queer rights. We have not yet become honest about queer loneliness.

When I was younger and still developing what I jokingly call my ‘rainbow feathers,’ life felt lighter.

I was a size 28 back then; yes, trust me, I truly was once a size 28 and much easier on the eye. Like many young queer people, I was discovering friendship, nightlife, attraction, heartbreak and the particular excitement of finding others like yourself in a world that often made you feel invisible.

And like many young people, we believed we had time.

I remember sitting with friends, watching older queer people move through social spaces quietly and often alone. Some were beautiful. Stylish. Soft-spoken. Mysterious. They carried wisdom in their silence. Yet many of them were single, aging and increasingly disappearing from the social scene year after year.

At the time, we pitied them. We would whisper among ourselves: ‘What happened to them?’ And with all the arrogance and optimism of youth, we would reassure ourselves: ‘This will never be us.’

But life has a painful way of humbling certainty.

As the years passed, many of us slowly began to realise something devastating: those older queer people were not lonely because they had failed at love. Many were lonely because society had failed them. The people we dated in our youth slowly disappeared into heterosexual marriages. Some became fathers and husbands. Some reinvented themselves publicly to survive socially. Some abandoned their queer identities completely in pursuit of safety, acceptance or family approval.

Others simply disappeared.

And every now and then, years later, we would hear whispers: ‘He passed away.’ ‘He died alone.’ ‘No one even knew he was sick.’ ‘No partner. No family nearby.’

The silence around queer loneliness in Botswana is profound. And it begins long before old age. It begins in childhood.

I often say I enjoyed the privilege of never really having to ‘come out.’ There was never some dramatic announcement. Yet even without words, society has always found ways to communicate to queer children that they must be careful.

I remember vividly driving with my grandfather through Gaborone when I was around ten years old. He was the person who introduced me to reading, politics and current affairs. From as young as eight, he would make me read newspaper articles and then discuss them with him afterwards; a discipline I am deeply grateful for to this day.

One day, I was reading a Friday newspaper which had the famous ‘Page 3.’ On that Friday they interview the late veteran broadcaster Mike Oliver, who spoke openly about being gay.

I remember the sudden shame that rushed through my body. Softly and quickly, I folded the newspaper closed before my grandfather could say anything. He had not spoken a single word. He had not condemned anyone. Yet somehow, at ten years old, I already understood that this was something dangerous to be associated with publicly.

That is how deeply social conditioning works. It does not wait for instruction. It simply settles into a child like weather.

I also remember visiting family in Kanye and watching Shanti-Lo performing flamboyantly on Mokaragana, one of Botswana’s most iconic music shows. The fact that Shanti-Lo came from Kanye itself made the discussion among the elders even louder.

‘Naare motho yoo Tumediso o dira eng?’

What exactly is that person doing?

The room filled with discomfort, ridicule and commentary. And quietly, without anyone directly addressing me, I learned another lesson: that whatever I was becoming was something society viewed with suspicion.

So I learned to perform. I learned to monitor my hand movements. I learned to lower my voice in certain spaces. I learned how to restrain softness. I learned how to study masculinity carefully enough to survive it.

These lessons were taught without my parents ever explicitly saying a word to me. And perhaps that is why many queer children become experts at silence long before they become adults. The education happens in living rooms, in combis, in church pews, in the spaces between words.

Nobody sits a queer child down and teaches them to hide. Society does it casually, collectively, and very effectively, without ever announcing that it has begun.

The psychological cost of this conditioning is not abstract. Years of monitoring yourself, editing your gestures, your voice, your reactions in real time produces measurable harm. Chronic anxiety. Depression. A body perpetually braced for threat. And in Botswana, where mental health remains deeply stigmatised and resources are critically under-resourced, most queer people carry this weight alone, without professional support and without language within their communities to even name what they are experiencing.

But I also want to be honest about something more tender than the clinical picture.

One memory still warms me deeply.

Years ago, I attended an IDAHOT event co-organised by BONELA and LEGABIBO at the Main Mall. Months later, an aunt mentioned that someone from church had apparently told my mother they had seen me at the event wearing high heels, a wig and red lipstick.

First of all, let me tell you this for free; this was an absolute lie, mogolo o ne a gogile lethaku motshegare. I have never appeared in that style in my life. I have absolutely nothing against it, but I am very much a jeans and All-Stars kind of person, which ironically confuses people even more.

Apparently even my form of queerness was failing to meet expectations on all sides.

But what stayed with me was my mother’s response. I asked my aunt why my mother had never confronted me about it. And she simply said: ‘Your mother said that was nonsense and that her role was to love you in whichever way you presented yourself.’

We never spoke about that incident directly. Not once. But somehow, in that silence, there was love.

Sometimes love does not announce itself. Sometimes it simply refuses to participate in your diminishment. And that refusal is everything.

I know how rare that kind of love is. I know that for many queer people in Botswana, home is not a place of safety but a place of performance where they must maintain a version of themselves that requires constant, exhausting maintenance. Where sermons at dinner tables are not quite directed at them but are absolutely meant for them. Where they are loved conditionally, accepted as long as they remain invisible enough to be comfortable for everyone else.

And some know something worse: outright rejection. Being told to leave. Being erased from the family narrative as though they had never existed. Being removed from the family WhatsApp group which in contemporary Botswana is its own particular form of social excommunication.

When the people who are supposed to love you without conditions attach conditions, something breaks in a person. Quietly. Not always visibly. But permanently.

Years later, I relocated to Kenya for work. During that period, I was in a long-term relationship with someone who, even today, I still believe may have been the true love of my life, lets call him NM.

My family had seen him around several times, enough to know he was more than just a friend. My mother was critically ill and hospitalised during this period. One day, I received a phone call from him. He said very little before handing the phone to someone else.

It was my mother on the other end.

My family had reached out to him directly, and there he was, beside them during one of the most painful moments of our lives. My heart melted completely.

My parents and extended family loved him deeply. Quietly. Naturally. Completely. We never formally discussed our relationship, but my father would randomly call him just to check on him, or invite him over to collect seshabo at home.

That tenderness remains one of the greatest gifts my family has ever given me. And I hold it knowing that many queer people will never receive anything like it.

Legal rights give people protection. They do not give people belonging. And belonging is what human beings cannot survive without.

Which is perhaps why heartbreak within queer life can feel uniquely isolating. Because when relationships collapse, many queer people are left carrying grief in silence. Who do you turn to when society barely recognises your love to begin with? Which spaces allow queer heartbreak to exist fully and honestly? Even grief itself can feel hidden.

And this is the part of the queer experience that rarely enters our national conversation. Not the politics. Not the litigation. But the loneliness of growing up without ever seeing a queer future reflected back at you. Without seeing elderly queer couples growing old together openly. Without seeing queer families living freely. Without seeing enough evidence that permanence is even possible.

How do you dream about a future you have never witnessed? How do you visualise growing old with your partner when society has consistently told you that your love is temporary, immoral or impossible? For many queer people, survival became easier to imagine than permanence. The horizon shortened, not because of personal failure, but because nobody had ever shown them that a longer view was available.

The current marriage equality case involving two lesbian women feels emotionally significant precisely because of this. Whether people agree with same-sex marriage or not, the case has forced Botswana to confront a question queer people have quietly carried for years: do queer people deserve the right to dream about permanence too? Not just survival. Not just tolerance. Not just existing quietly at the edges of society. But love. Family. Stability. Legacy. Home.

Most queer people are not asking for anything extraordinary. They are asking for what everyone else already has; the right to love openly, age with dignity, and not disappear quietly into loneliness.

I want to be careful, as I close this piece, not to leave you with only the weight. Because that would not be the full truth, and it would not honour the people I am writing about.

The full truth is that queer people in Botswana are among the most resilient, creative and courageously alive people I have encountered across over thirteen years of this work. They have built networks of chosen family where biological family failed them. They have created spaces of laughter, culture and genuine joy in circumstances that offered very little permission to thrive. They have loved fiercely, organised tirelessly and survived conditions that would have broken many people entirely.

That resilience is real and deserves to be named.

But resilience is not a substitute for justice. The fact that queer people have survived extraordinary pressure does not make that pressure acceptable. Celebrating the survival of people who should never have been placed in survival conditions to begin with is a very particular kind of cruelty dressed as admiration.

We do not need to be celebrated for surviving. We need the conditions that make survival necessary to finally change.

As I grow older, I think often about those queer elders we once judged so carelessly in our youth. I think about how much loneliness they carried privately. How much courage it took simply to exist in a society that offered them almost no roadmap for the future. I think perhaps many of them were not failures.

Perhaps they were survivors. Perhaps they were carrying the emotional consequences of a society that denied them the possibility of ordinary love.

Today, I find myself holding onto cautious hope. Hope that younger queer people in Botswana may inherit softer realities. Hope that queer couples may one day stop having to disappear into secrecy to survive. Hope that queer children growing up right now may one day imagine futures bigger than endurance.

And if you are a queer person reading this, perhaps in private, perhaps with the particular mix of recognition and grief that comes from seeing your experience named in public:

Botswana Railways has been plunged into turmoil after workers affiliated with the Botswana Transport and General Workers Union (BTGWU) embarked on industrial action over allegations that deductions made from employees’ salaries have not been remitted to the institutions for which they were intended.

The strike has intensified scrutiny of the state-owned railway operator, with workers accusing management of deducting money from their monthly salaries while allegedly failing to transfer the funds to pension schemes, savings cooperatives, medical aid providers and financial institutions.

At the heart of the dispute are claims that pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries have not been paid to the MINET Pension Fund for more than two years. Workers fear the alleged failure to remit contributions may have jeopardised their retirement savings and pension records, potentially affecting hundreds of employees who rely on the fund to secure their future after retirement.

Union members say the situation has generated widespread anxiety among workers who have continued to see pension deductions reflected on their payslips despite concerns that the money has not reached the pension fund.

The controversy extends beyond pensions.

Employees also allege that repayments and savings contributions deducted for BRSACCOS have not been remitted for more than eight months. Workers argue that the alleged non-payment has affected their ability to access services offered by the cooperative and has disrupted their financial planning despite deductions continuing to be made through payroll.

Further concerns have emerged over medical aid and funeral cover contributions. According to workers, deductions intended for these services have allegedly remained unpaid for at least three months, leaving employees worried that they could face difficulties accessing healthcare or funeral benefits during times of need.

The dispute has also exposed concerns involving personal and mortgage loans. Workers allege that repayments deducted from their salaries have not been forwarded to financial institutions for approximately three months, potentially exposing employees to penalties, arrears, damaged credit records and additional financial costs.

The allegations have fuelled growing anger among employees who insist they have honoured their obligations through payroll deductions and should not be punished for failures beyond their control.

The strike now places Botswana Railways under significant pressure to account for the missing remittances and provide assurances that workers’ money is secure. Union members are demanding immediate transparency regarding the status of the deductions and a clear plan to settle all outstanding payments owed to third-party institution.

Employees argue that salary deductions represent money earned by workers and held temporarily by the employer for a specific purpose. Failure to remit those funds, they contend, undermines confidence in the employer and places workers’ livelihoods, retirement security and financial reputations at risk.As the standoff continues, rail operations face uncertainty while pressure mounts on Botswana Railways management to explain what happened to the deducted funds and how affected employees will be protected from the consequences.

Botswana imported food and beverages worth P1.04 billion in February 2026, a decline of 17.7 percent from the P1.26 billion recorded in January, according to the latest figures released by Statistics Botswana.

The report shows that food and beverage imports accounted for 10.5 percent of the country’s total imports of P9.84 billion during the month. Non-food imports made up the remaining 89.5 percent.

Beverages, spirits and vinegar remained the largest food and beverage import category, valued at P201.5 million and contributing 19.4 percent of total food and beverage imports. Cereals followed at P150.4 million, representing 14.5 percent of the total, while miscellaneous edible preparations accounted for P100 million or 9.6 percent.

The value of beverage imports increased by 10.9 percent from January’s P181.7 million, reinforcing the category’s position as Botswana’s leading food and beverage import.

Within the beverages category, beer made from malt was the most imported product, accounting for P64.8 million or 32.2 percent of beverage imports. Other fermented beverages, including cider, perry, mead and sake, contributed P50.6 million or 25.1 percent. Other non-alcoholic beverages and sweetened or flavoured waters followed with contributions of 13.0 percent and 10.2 percent respectively.

Cereal imports, which had surged to P395 million in January, fell sharply to P150.4 million in February, a decline of 61.9 percent. Despite the drop, cereals remained the second-largest food import category.

The cereal basket was dominated by maize imports worth P86.5 million, accounting for 57.5 percent of cereal imports. Semi-milled or wholly milled rice followed at P40 million, representing 26.6 percent, while wheat imports stood at P22 million or 14.6 percent.

Other notable import categories included preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk at P81.1 million, sugars and sugar confectionery at P77.3 million, and preparations of vegetables, fruit and nuts at P72.3 million. Dairy products contributed P60.1 million, while prepared animal fodder accounted for P53.3 million.

Statistics Botswana noted that although food and beverage imports declined month-on-month, beverages, cereals and processed food products continued to dominate the country’s import basket, underlining Botswana’s continued reliance on imported food products to meet domestic demand.

Botswana is facing worsening economic conditions that could trigger widespread job losses which are expected to place households, businesses and the country’s financial system under severe strain.

The warning is contained in the latest Financial Stability Report prepared by the Bank in collaboration with member institutions of the Financial Stability Council (FSC) which identifies unemployment as one of the most significant threats facing Botswana’s economy.

According to the report, current weak domestic economic conditions have heightened the risk that employment losses could materialise or intensify in the near future. To assess the resilience of the financial sector, the Bank conducted a stress test based on what it described as a ‘severe but plausible scenario’ involving rising unemployment and stagnant household incomes.’

The scenario reflects structural vulnerabilities in the household sector, particularly the high concentration of unsecured borrowing, which increases households’ exposure to labour-market shocks and income declines,’ the report states.Under such circumstances, widespread job losses would sharply reduce household incomes and weaken borrowers’ ability to service debt.

The Bank warns that this could trigger a surge in loan defaults and a significant increase in non-performing loans (NPLs), placing additional pressure on banks already operating in a constrained liquidity environment. ‘The resulting deterioration in asset quality erodes bank profitability and adds pressure to funding and liquidity conditions in an already constrained financial system,’ the report says.

The central bank also highlighted concerns over concentration risks within the banking industry. Despite modest growth in bank balance sheets, the sector remains heavily dependent on wholesale deposits from institutional investors, exposing banks to funding and rollover risks.

‘Banking industry concentration remains a concern,’ the report notes, adding that government employees continue to account for the largest share of bank borrowing, making employment conditions a critical factor for financial sector stability. To address these vulnerabilities, the Bank revealed that it is considering targeted supervisory interventions, including institution-specific capital requirements for banks with elevated deposit concentration risks and additional measures to strengthen liquidity management.

The report further identifies Botswana’s dependence on the diamond sector as a major source of vulnerability. The stress test modelled a prolonged decline in global diamond demand, driven by economic slowdown in key markets, weaker luxury goods consumption and growing competition from synthetic diamonds.

‘The persistence of these circumstances could entail diamond mines scaling down operations, potential job losses in mining and related sectors as well as lower foreign exchange inflows,’ the report warns.

The report also warns that a sustained downturn in the diamond industry would reduce household incomes, weaken consumer spending and place further pressure on businesses. While the banking sector is considered resilient enough to withstand a moderate decline in diamond revenues, the report warns that a severe and prolonged slump could push some financial institutions below regulatory capital requirements.

The findings suggest growing concerns that employment losses, coupled with weaknesses in the diamond sector and household indebtedness could emerge as a powerful source of systemic risk for Botswana’s economy.

The latest official statistics show an improvement in food security but the country remains far from free of hunger with 47.2 percent of the population still experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity.

Statistics Botswana says the share of people who are food secure or only mildly food insecure rose to 52.8 percent in 2023/24, even as 28.1 percent of the population remained moderately food insecure and 19.1 percent faced severe food insecurity.

New official figures suggest Botswana is recovering from the sharp food insecurity spike seen in 2021/22, but nearly half the population still lives with some level of food insecurity.

The report says the latest findings were drawn from the Quarterly Multi-Topic Survey and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), with data referring to the previous 12 months. It notes that food security has improved in the last two reporting years after worsening around the pandemic period.

The share of people who were food secure or mildly food insecure had fallen from 49.2 percent in 2018/19 to 46.7 percent in 2021/22, before recovering to 50.6 percent in 2022/23 and 52.8 percent in 2023/24.

Statistics Botswana says this ‘suggests that while there were declines in 2020/21 and 2021/22, food security improved in the last two years of the reporting period.’

Moderate food insecurity has remained relatively stable over time, though still at worrying levels. It rose from 28.6 percent in 2018/19 to 30.9 percent in 2020/21, dropped to 27.1 percent in 2021/22, increased again to 29.2 percent in 2022/23, and eased to 28.1 percent in 2023/24.

Severe food insecurity shows the clearest improvement in the latest data. After rising sharply to 26.2 percent in 2021/22, it fell to 20.2 percent in 2022/23 and then to 19.1 percent in 2023/24. The report says the 2021/22 spike could possibly have been linked to COVID-19 effects on household food security.

The official figures also show that hardship remains more severe outside urban centres. In rural areas, severe food insecurity stood at 25.1 percent in 2023/24, compared with 18.4 percent in urban villages and 11.5 percent in cities and towns.

An unusual cast of international businessmen and lobbyists has emerged as private deal makers around President Duma Boko, attracting scrutiny from the United States’ foreign influence transparency system and raising questions about the nature of their role.

Hardly two years since President Boko swept to power promising transparency, accountability and a new economic direction, a small but influential network of foreign businessmen and international intermediaries has quietly emerged around Botswana’s new administration.

At the centre of that network are three men whose backgrounds could hardly be more different. There is a Canadian-Israeli lobbyist with history of representing controversial political figures across the globe.

An Iranian-born entrepreneur who has been the subject of public allegations and red flag reports linking him to controversial crypto and investment circles, but no verified criminal conviction or official charge.

And a controversial South African mining and investment magnate whose name has repeatedly surfaced in discussions involving major projects in Botswana.

Individually, Ari Ben-Menashe, Farzam Kamalabadi and Zunaid Moti may appear unrelated. Together, however they reveal a striking pattern.

The first sign that Boko’s presidency would be different emerged long before he entered the State House. In July 2024, documents filed in the United States revealed that Boko had signed a lobbying agreement with Canadian firm Dickens and Madison headed by Ari Ben-Menashe. The agreement attracted attention because Ben-Menashe is no ordinary lobbyist. Over the years, he has cultivated a reputation as one of the world’s most colourful political operators, representing presidents, opposition leaders and governments across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The assumption among many observers was that the relationship would end once the election was over. Instead, public filings suggest otherwise.

A January 2026 filling submitted under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act stated that Dickens and Madison ‘ continue to work with Mr Duma Boko in support of his presidency.’ The filing did not elaborate. It did not specify the nature of the work. It did not specify who was paying, nor did it clarify whether the work was being undertaken on behalf of Boko personally, the ruling party or the Botswana government.

The website assigns a 50/100 score to the registration involving Dickens and Madson Canada Inc. and Duma Boko, stating:’The principal is a political party leader, which generally falls in the middle range of U.S. interest alignment. Without further details on the specific activities, a neutral score is appropriate.’ The assessment concludes that the registration ‘warrants scrutiny.’

If Ben- Menashe operates largely behind the scenes, Farzam Kamalabadi occupies a far more visible position. In 2025, Boko appointed Kamalabadi as Presidential Envoy on International Relations and Economic Development. The appointment placed Kamalabadi at the centre of Botswana’s effort to attract international investment at a time when the country faces one of its most challenging economic environments in decades.

Information published on the website tracking filings under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) states that Botswana currently has two active registrations. It describes the country’s direct efforts to influence U.S. policy or public opinion as ‘minimal’ compared to many other nations.

According to the website under a briefing titled ‘What Botswana is doing in Washington,’ the filings reveal that the Government of Botswana has engaged Fang Consulting LLC for strategic consulting, a company under Kamalabadi’s stable.

The website notes: ‘Botswana’s engagement with U.S. influence operations, as indicated by available FARA filings, is minimal, with only two active registrations.’ It adds that the filings demonstrate that ‘both governmental and individual political interests from Botswana have sought representation in Washington, albeit on a small scale compared to many other nations with active FARA registrations.’

Regarding the government’s engagement of Fang Consulting LLC, the website states that Botswana’s country baseline score is 60/100, but that ‘Strategic Consulting adjusts by -3, yielding a neutral signal.’ It describes this as a ‘heuristic’ assessment and notes that ‘no AI score [is] available.’

The website further observes that the strategic themes emerging from Botswana’s filings ‘appear to center on general strategic engagement and political lobbying rather than specific policy objectives.’

It says: ‘The government’s engagement with ‘strategic consulting’ points to image management or broad relationship building, while the lobbying by a political figure could encompass a range of objectives from advocating for a particular political stance to garnering support for electoral campaigns.’

However, updated filings submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice by Ari Ben-Menashe of Dickens and Madson Canada Inc. indicate that the firm’s activities on behalf of Duma Boko have not been directed at the United States.

The filing states:’DandM’s activities for Mr. Duma Boko have consisted of lobbying in Botswana, South Africa and the United Kingdom in support of his election as President of Botswana.’

It adds:’DandM continues to work with Mr. Duma Boko in support of his presidency.’

The filing emphasizes: ‘All activities DandM has engaged in on behalf of Mr. Duma Boko have occurred outside the United States, and none of those activities have been directed at the United States.’

The company further declared:’DandM has not prepared, disseminated or caused the dissemination of informational materials in the United States in connection with this foreign principal.’

On compensation, the filing says the firm did not receive any contributions, income or money from Boko during the reporting period. Instead, it reported that it applied retainer payments previously provided by Boko and previously disclosed to the Department of Justice. Those previously disclosed payments were reportedly USD 50,000 for a 12-month period, equivalent to approximately P675,000.

The disclosures suggest that Botswana’s government and political leadership have become part of the U.S. foreign influence transparency regime, where lobbying and consulting activities undertaken on behalf of foreign principals are publicly registered and monitored under FARA, even when the reported activities themselves are conducted outside the United States.

Then there is Zunaid Moti. The South African businessman has become a familiar figure in Botswana’s political conversation since Boko’s election victory. Government officials have acknowledged receiving proposals associated with Moti involving infrastructure projects. Media repots have linked him to efforts to secure opportunities in sectors ranging from construction to public-private partnerships. Critics, including former President Mokgweetsi Masisi have suggested that Moti’s proximity to the new administration deserves closer examination. Supporters dismiss such claims as politically motivated. Yet the persistence of Moti’s name in discussions involving major government projects continue to fuel speculation about the extent of his influence.