Category: Sunday Standard

It was a tough professional debut for Ntungamili Raguin at the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Gaborone M15 tournament this past week.

The 17-year-old lost his first professional match 7 – 5, 3 – 6, 5 – 7 against USA’s Preston Brown. Despite a spirited fight, against a much taller, physically imposing and experienced professional opponent, Ntungamili’s inexperience was all there apparent to see.

A nervous start, which was compounded later by faults which led to a loss of crucial points made things difficult for the teenager. In his post-match interview, the youngster alluded that the early nerves had taken a lot out of him. So much, he says, he felt fatigued towards the end of the deciding set.

In the end, this cost him the match as he failed to make it count when he was serving for the match. Despite leading 5 – 2, the youngster somehow failed to clinch the match as Brown fought back to eventually snatch it.

Reflecting on the match, Raguin’s coach Killian Sinclair said ‘he was disappointed but happy.’ ‘It shows we still have a lot to work on. I think he’s got a lot of good things, a lot of character. He tried very hard until the end, which is one of the most important things.’

‘The main goal we set when we came here was about how he presented himself and the attitude he had, and I think that was a success today. Especially since he didn’t convert one of his match points, of course. But overall, I think it was a positive match. Hopefully he doesn’t take it too hard. I’m disappointed but happy.’

This being his first professional match, and against a physically mature and imposing opponent, there were however good takeaways. This was an experience the teenager needed as he charts his way towards professional tennis.

‘It’s good because it shows that there are many different types of tennis players. Today he played someone who’s very, very tall, very heavy, serves very, very well. That’s the reality of tennis – there are a lot of people like this, and in juniors you don’t get that experience so much.’

‘So, it’s a very good thing to play some men’s tennis now, because that’s the goal. As much as we want to do well at the French Open, we have goals that go way beyond juniors. It’s important to get the experience now so that he doesn’t have that shock later,’ Sinclair says.

While losing from a winning position in his first professional match was hard to take, glimpses of huge potential Raguin has were all out for everyone to see. In fact, as he sets sights in competing on playing the men’s grand slams and competing well in them in the future, Batswana can be excited.

Regarding the many faults which cost Raguin some valuable points, coach Sinclair is not worried. He says the faults were expected. He attributes the faults to works they are doing to improve his play as well as the pressure of playing an experienced quality opponent.

‘It’s partly by design because we’ve been working on improving his shot quality, and when you work to improve your shot quality, it comes with a few more mistakes.’

‘But it’s also because of the quality of his opponent. Today he played a professional player – it’s different than playing the juniors that you’ve seen him play here. So, it’s a mix of both, I would say.’

Even more interesting for coach Sinclair was how the youngster is handling the pressure. ‘Mentally, he’s been really making strides recently. It’s tough because the better he plays, the higher the level. The better he plays, the more pressure he feels – the pressure from others, or in general pressure for himself, what he wants to achieve. It’s been a little time for him to adapt to that. But he’s going through it and he’s on a good path I would say.’

With the first professional match now behind him, Raguin will be looking forward to his next outing. This will be this coming week when he returns to the court again for his second professional match. For him, these matches also serve as preparations for the upcoming Rolland Garros Junior Championships, Davies Cup Africa Group IV and hopefully Junior Wimbledon.

‘We have still next week here, next week as well, and we go straight to the French Open after that. He has his final exams in school – he’s still in school. Then we have a small break with, or break here’s the Davis Cup in Kenya. He’s really excited about that. And then we’re gonna go to England, and depending if he’s in or not,’ Sinclair says.

As for the young Raguin, his eyes are set on the next ITF Gaborone M15 match. His wish is just to do his best and make the country proud. As for what the future holds, only time will tell.

There are moments when a nation buries a leader, only to discover that he is still speaking.

When news broke that former president, Festus Mogae had died, Botswana paused. But as the tributes flowed, something unexpected happened. HIV/AIDS returned.

Not in hospitals. Not in statistics buried deep inside ministry reports and not in donor conferences or technical presentations.

It returned in conversations. Suddenly, Batswana are talking again, really talking about the disease that once stalked every homestead, every cattle post and every family gathering.

On radio call-in programmes, people remember the funerals. In taxis, passengers recall entire neighborhoods losing young men and women in the space of weeks. At workplaces, older employees speak about a time when attendance registers slowly became lists of the dead.

For the first time in years, HIV/AIDS is no longer a ‘health sector issue’. It is personal again.

And in a strange and deeply emotional way, Mogae is leading the conversation once more.

In death, the former president is accomplishing what years of awareness campaigns have struggled to do, he has forced Botswana to remember what HIV/AIDS once meant.

For younger generations, it is difficult to fully grasp the fear that once consumed Botswana. There was a time when funerals were so commonplace that black mourning cloth seemed like the national dress code. Teachers disappeared from classrooms; police officers vanished from police stations. Every family carried grief.

Botswana was not merely fighting a health crisis. It was fighting for survival. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, HIV prevalence had become so severe that international observers openly questioned whether the country could survive the epidemic intact. The infection rate was among the highest in the world. Life expectancy collapsed dramatically. Hospitals overflowed. Some feared Botswana would become a hollowed-out state populated by orphans and the elderly.

Across much of Africa at the time, HIV/AIDS remained wrapped in stigma and shame and denial. Denialism and silence infected political leadership across parts of the continent. Across the border in South Africa, Thabo Meki’s Thabo Mbeki’s HIV/AIDS denialism was institutional, highly intellectualized, and deeply rooted in post-colonial suspicion. Rather than a simple rejection of science, it was a complex ideological stance that actively weaponized state policy against orthodox medicine, resulting in an estimated 330,000 avoidable deaths. Her Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang

earned the moniker ‘Dr. Beetroot’, because she rejected the scientific consensus on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), continuously claiming they were highly toxic and Western conspiracies designed to harm Africans. She publicly championed a diet of beetroot, garlic, lemon, and African potato as legitimate cures and preventions for AIDS. She actively blocked and delayed the national rollout of life-saving ARV programs.

In Swaziland,King Mswati III, while not questioning the existence of the virus, Africa’s last absolute monarch long displayed governance-level denialism regarding its transmission.Rather than accepting epidemiological models focusing on structural and clinical intervention, he treated the epidemic purely as a moral failing.In 2001, to combat the world’s highest HIV prevalence rate, he invoked Umchwasho-a traditional five-year chastity rite that banned all women under 18 from having sex or shaking hands with men under penalty of a fine (one cow). The policy completely distracted from required condom distribution and clinical public health messaging.

Further up north, in Gambia, the then presidentYahya Jammehtook denialism a step further by claiming personal spiritual powers over the virus. Jammeh claimed that Western medicine was entirely unnecessary to treat HIV/AIDS. In Tanzania, President John Magufuli systematically suppressed health infrastructure that targeted marginalized populations, denying the efficacy of targeted HIV programming. His government banned the registration and operation of specialized drop-in centers and suspended the distribution of lubricants used for HIV prevention, falsely claiming that expanding access to these medical prevention tools promoted homosexuality.

Leaders avoided confronting the disease directly. Communities whispered about it and families concealed it.

Then came Mogae.

The soft-spoken economist did something rare for a leader of his generation. He spoke openly about HIV/AIDS with brutal honesty. He did not moralize it. He confronted it head on as a national emergency.

His honesty changed everything. Under his leadership, Botswana pioneered one of Africa’s most ambitious antiretroviral treatment programmes. The country rolled out free antiretroviral therapy at a time when many developing nations were still debating whether such treatment was financially viable. Botswana became a global model for aggressive HIV intervention, earning admiration from international health agencies and researchers. But statistics alone cannot capture what that Mogae’s leadership achieved.

What he really gave Botswana was hope and a fighting chance. He convinced ordinary Batswana that getting tested was not surrender. He encouraged families to talk openly. He normalised treatment at a time when many infected people still hid in fear. He shifted HIV/AIDS from being a whispered shame to a fight that belonged to the whole country. Botswana began clawing itself back from disaster. Because of his efforts, Botswana today maintains some of the best HIV treatment outcomes in the world. Viral suppression rates remain globally respected. Antiretroviral access is universal. Thousands of lives have been saved.

Yet beneath those achievements lies a quieter and more dangerous problem. The younger generation is forgetting. Many young Batswana were born after the darkest years of the epidemic. They grew up in a Botswana where HIV was increasingly manageable, where treatment existed, when infected people live long and productive lives.

That success, while extraordinary, has created an unintended consequence. The terror faded. And when fear fades without equally powerful prevention education replacing it, complacency grows. This is the danger now confronting Botswana.

Data from local youth advocacy groups like Renale Seabe (RESENO) highlights that the ‘First 90’ (the percentage of people who know their HIV status) is lagging severely behind in the younger generation. A significant portion of young people aged 15-24 have reported not receiving an HIV test in the previous 12 months, indicating a breakdown in proactive testing outreach.

Public health experts note that communication models used in educational efforts have historically relied heavily on Western experiences. They often fail to incorporate local cultural traditions based on respect, cooperation, and consultation.

Because Botswana achieved massive success with viral load suppression and free Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) programs, public messaging shifted heavily toward treatment adherence rather than active prevention. This has normalized the virus, inadvertently reducing the perceived urgency of prevention among younger demographics who did not witness the peak of the epidemic.

Current messaging is failing to sufficiently address the modern intersections of substance use and risk. The Ministry of Health explicitly warned that alcohol and substance abuse have become major unaddressed drivers of new infections among adolescent girls and young women.

Nationwide district-level consultations for the fourth National Strategic Framework (NSF4) revealed that women and youth are avoiding sexual health services due to fear of intimidation, judgment, and discrimination by healthcare providers. This highlights a severe breakdown in trust that standard messaging has failed to repair.

Many campaigns inform without deeply touching people. And HIV cannot be fought with information alone. It must be fought emotionally. That may ultimately be the strange power of this moment. Mogae’s passing has reminded Botswana that HIV/AIDS is not merely a medical issue. It is a human story. A story of mothers burying children, grandparents raising orphans, of communities surviving grief, of courage. And of a nation that once stood dangerously close to collapse before deciding to fight back together. Perhaps that is why the country is reacting so emotionally. Beneath the mourning for Mogae is also the rediscovery of collective memory. People were not simply remembering a former president. They were remembering survival itself. There is something profoundly symbolic about the fact that HIC/AIDS returned to national conversation during the week of Mogae’s death. Almost as if the man who once rallied Botswana against extinction was delivering one final warning before departing. Do not become complacent. Do not forget what this disease once did. The warning could not have come at a more critical time. Globally, donor fatigue is growing. Resources are tightening. Prevention campaigns are weakening in many countries. Botswana faces mounting challenges sustaining momentum as new social pressures emerge among younger populations. The danger is no longer dramatic collapse, it is slow erosion of awareness, prevention behavior and urgency. And epidemics often return quietly before societies realise what is happening. That is why Mogae’s legacy now feels larger than politics. He is remembered not only because he led Botswana during difficult years, but because he gave the country the courage to confront an uncomfortable truth when denial would have been easier.

As funeral speeches fade and national mourning slowly ends. Botswana faces an important choice. It can allow the moment of reflection to pass quietly back into routine.

Or it can treat this emotional awakening as the beginning of a renewed national conversation about HIV prevention, youth outreach and collective responsibility. Because the fight Mogae helped lead is not over. And perhaps the most remarkable thing about his legacy is that even from the grave, Festus Mogae is still forcing Botswana to fight for its future.

A new continental survey by Afrobarometer has found that while Africans still broadly support media freedom, the supply of that freedom is shrinking with Botswana recording the largest decline in perceived media freedom across the continent.

The report, titled ‘Demand for civic space holds strong across Africa as supply of freedoms wanes’, shows a continent divided on whether the media operates freely. It warns of a sustained contraction in civic space including growing state control over both traditional and digital platforms.

Across 38 countries surveyed, a slight majority of respondents (53%) say their media is either ‘somewhat’ or ‘completely free’ to report without government interference. However, a significant minority -43%-believe their media is ‘not very free’ or ‘not at all free.’

The report notes: ‘Across the 38 surveyed countries, Africans are divided on whether their media is free.’

Perceptions of full media freedom remain uneven across the continent. Liberia (47%) and Zambia (45%) record the highest shares of citizens who believe the media is ‘completely free,’ while fewer than one in ten respondents hold that view in countries such as Nigeria (9%), Eswatini (7%), Cameroon (7%), Togo (7%), and Congo-Brazzaville (6%).

More worrying for press freedom advocates is the downward trend over time. The report finds that in 30 countries with comparable data since 2019, perceptions of media freedom have fallen by an average of four percentage points.

It states: ‘Across 30 countries… perceptions of media freedom have declined by 4 percentage points on average.’

Only five countries recorded significant gains, led by Liberia (+58 points), Gabon (+24), and Zambia (+22). In contrast, 20 countries recorded declines in perceived media freedom, signalling what researchers describe as a shrinking civic environment.

Among the most affected are Guinea (-34), Lesotho (-22), Nigeria (-22), and Botswana (-20), placing Botswana among the worst performers on the continent.

The report suggests that Botswana’s 20-point drop represents the largest recorded decline in perceived media freedom in Africa over the study period and raises concerns about growing public scepticism over press independence.

While the report does not attribute causes directly, the broader findings link declining media freedom perceptions to increasing government influence, regulatory pressure and constraints on investigative reporting.

The report also highlights a paradox in Africa’s civic transformation. While internet access has expanded rapidly initially raising expectations of stronger civic engagement governments are increasingly using digital tools to control information flows.

It warns: ‘Governments have increasingly extended restrictions on civic space into the digital sphere, with Internet shutdowns emerging as the go-to tool for limiting civic mobilisation.’

These shutdowns, the report adds, are especially common during elections, when authorities seek to limit dissent and manage public narratives.

Despite these challenges, the survey finds strong public endorsement of media freedom and its watchdog role in society. However, the gap between public expectations and lived reality continues to widen. Respondents in Botswana were asked how free the media is to report without government interference. Results show: completely free: 14%, somewhat free: 37%, not very free: 27% and not at all free: 14%

Meanwhile, section 12 of the Constitution of Botswana guarantees freedom of expression and recognises the media’s vital watchdog role in society. These freedoms are not privileges granted at the discretion of political leaders, but fundamental democratic rights that the state has a constitutional obligation to uphold and protect.

The 2024 general elections raised expectations of a reset in government-media relations, but over a year and a half later, that optimism is slowly fading away. One may wonder whether it was too early to celebrate the establishment of the Media Review Task Team in 2025, which was mandated to examine the legal framework, media sustainability and structural constraints affecting the industry. Its formation had signalled what many believed was a genuine commitment to reform and had inspired renewed optimism within the media fraternity.

To date, however, the long-awaited 2025 review report remains unpublished, creating further uncertainty within the sector.

In recent months, journalists have been subjected to sustained public attacks, including accusations of misinformation, unethical conduct and poor professionalism. Some of these attacks, originating from or amplified by individuals occupying senior public office, have legitimised online harassment and normalised hostility towards the media.

Continuous public statements dismissing ‘90% of media reports as fake’ risk fuelling hostility and self-censorship. Botswana’s global press freedom ranking has also dropped significantly, from 42nd in 2015 to 81st in 2025, a development that remains a major concern not only for advocacy bodies but for the media industry at large.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana Chapter in the recent months noted with grave concern that these developments risk reversing hard-won gains made under the new government. The organisation stated that ‘government’s early commitments to openness and reform now appear to be undermined by actions and rhetoric that are increasingly hostile to independent journalism.’

MISA Botswana further called on government to immediately reaffirm its commitment to press freedom and editorial independence; protect journalists, particularly those working within state media, from political interference and intimidation; ensure transparency regarding any personnel decisions linked to editorial content; and accelerate meaningful legal and policy reforms to safeguard media freedom and sustainability.

Earlier this month, as the world commemorated World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Botswana did not hold any commemoration events, something MISA Botswana also criticised. The advocacy body expressed concern over government’s failure to support media-led commemorations, noting that such support had been customary in previous years but did not materialise this year. MISA Botswana expressed that World Press Freedom Day 2026 was meant to be more symbolic, as it would have prompted decisive action beginning with the immediate release of the Media Law Review Task Team report and renewed commitment to safeguarding editorial independence.

MISA Botswana further noted the growing polarisation within the media fraternity, particularly the apparent attempts to accord preferential treatment to one media structure over another. ‘This undermines the principle that both MISA Botswana and the Botswana Editors Forum are critical pillars meant to serve the collective interests of the media sector, not political expediency,’ reads the MISA Botswana statement.

Air Botswana has operated for nearly six years without a stable governing structure, according to the airline’s general manager Dr. Bao Mosinyi. He says the prolonged instability has weakened oversight and disrupted operations at the national carrier.

Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Statutory Bodies and State-Owned Enterprises this week, Mosinyi said the airline had not maintained a quorate board for any sustained period during the past six years. In the latest setback, three board members resigned within the past two months, leaving the board unable to form quorum.

Mosinyi told the committee that governance challenges extend throughout the airline’s leadership structure. All executive committee positions at Air Botswana are currently occupied in an acting capacity, with the general manager remaining the only substantive executive appointment.

The disclosure offered a picture of an airline operating without a fully functional board or permanent executive leadership at a time when it continues to struggle with operational and financial pressures.

The airline’s management instability has coincided with mounting operational strain, particularly within its pilot corps. According to Mosinyi, nine pilots recently resigned from Air Botswana, leaving a sharply reduced workforce to sustain the airline’s domestic and regional operations.

Although Air Botswana has six aircraft in its fleet, only three or four are currently operational, he said. As a result, approximately 10 pilots are currently sustaining the airline’s active flight schedule.

At the same time, around 20 pilots remain on the payroll while not actively flying.

Mosinyi also outlined the scale of the airline’s financial challenges during his appearance before the parliamentary committee. He said government had injected more than half a billion pula into the airline between December 2021 and December 2025 through financial support measures and loans.

The committee also heard details surrounding a P230 million government loan advanced in 2018 for the acquisition of two aircraft. Proceedings indicated that the funds were ultimately not used for the intended aircraft purchase.

Mosinyi, who became substantive general manager earlier this year, assumed leadership at a time when the airline was already under pressure to improve operational stability and restore sustainability.

The parliamentary appearance cast a spotlight on the extent to which governance instability has affected strategic decision-making at the airline. Mosinyi told legislators that the absence of a stable and quorate board over several years had delayed key decisions and weakened oversight structures.

Air Botswana has in recent years reduced several regional routes as part of restructuring efforts aimed at containing losses and streamlining operations. The airline continues to operate domestic connections linking Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Francistown, alongside selected regional routes. The latest revelations come amid growing scrutiny of state-owned enterprises and statutory bodies over governance, financial management and operational performance. The immediate challenge for Air Botswana remains maintaining operations with a reduced pool of active pilots, half of its aircraft currently grounded and an executive structure dominated by acting appointments.

The medal count continues to rise for Botswana at the ongoing African Athletics Championships in Ghana. Glory and national pride, as expected, beckons.

Beyond the medals however, greater value lies elsewhere. According to the team management, the country’s greatest victory lies in the valuable experience gained by its young athletes competing on one of Africa’s biggest stages.

Team manager Keabetswe Friday says the championships have highlighted both the country’s growing strength and the areas that still require improvement if Botswana is to consistently compete among Africa’s athletics elite.

According to Friday, Botswana’s technical team deliberately set an ambitious target of four gold medals to challenge athletes mentally and physically against the continent’s top competitors. As of Thursday, Botswana had secured two gold medals and four silver medals, remaining firmly in contention to reach that target.

The gold medals came through Lee Eppie in the men’s 400 metres and Kemorena Tisang in the men’s 400m hurdles.Silver medals were won by Victor Ntweng in the men’s 400m hurdles, Oratile Nowe in the women’s 800 metres, Obakeng Kamberuka in the women’s 400 metres, and Botswana’s mixed 4x400m relay team.

Despite the encouraging performances, Friday admits that the championships also revealed important lessons for Botswana’s developing athletes, particularly when competing under pressure at senior level.

‘The competition showed us where we still need improvement, especially with young athletes competing at senior level. One of the biggest challenges was handling pressure on the big stage and maintaining a strong finish. Justice Oratile impressed in the heats but struggled in the final, while Oratile Nowe narrowly missed gold at the finish line,’ he says.

However, the team Botswana manager stresses that such moments should be viewed as part of the athletes’ growth and development rather than setbacks. He notes that Botswana’s 100m athletes did not perform as expected. That said, he believes the competition offered younger athletes a valuable opportunity to learn and gain confidence competing against experienced continental stars.

Friday adds that Botswana’s progress remained encouraging, especially considering that some athletes competing in Ghana had recently been participating in school sports and were now stepping up in the absence of more experienced athletes.

He also praised Botswana’s mixed 4x400m relay silver medal, saying the women’s side had improved significantly after years of development. The result, he says, boosted Botswana’s hopes of qualifying for the World Championships.

The performances of athletes such as 4x400m mixed relay Karabo Mantswinyane and Kamberuka were highlighted as signs that Botswana’s women sprinters are steadily improving and growing in confidence at continental level.

Friday further says, ‘Eppie’s development within Botswana’s relay programme, transitioned him into a full-time 4x400m athlete had contributed greatly to his gold-medal performance. Exposing young athletes to elite competition now would strengthen Botswana’s future relay teams and improve competition for national team call ups at the highest level.’

Scores of Batswana are reportedly fleeing to Europe as worsening economic conditions coupled with rising unemployment and declining mineral revenues push desperate citizens to seek survival abroad, a new government report has revealed.

The findings are contained in the National Voluntary Report of the Republic of Botswana on the Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which was compiled by government institutions, the private sector and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

The report details how the country is increasingly losing its skilled workforce and young people to foreign labour markets.

‘In more recent years, Botswana has experienced an increase in outward migration, especially to Europe, driven by perceived economic opportunities, access to specialised skills markets and better health care systems abroad,’ the report states.

The report links the migration surge to Botswana’s deteriorating economic climate, characterised by sluggish growth, fiscal strain and falling diamond revenues.

‘Botswana’s migration patterns are occurring within a broader macroeconomic context characterised by periods of low and declining economic growth, increased fiscal pressures, and a decline in mineral revenue,’ reads the report. The report further states that it echoes warnings previously raised in the 2026 Budget Speech by the Ministry of Finance.

‘ These structural factors continue to influence labour mobility and migration decisions amongst Batswana,’ the report says.

The findings come at a time when thousands of unemployed graduates and skilled professionals are increasingly vocal about shrinking opportunities in Botswana with social media flooded by advertisements for jobs, scholarships and relocation opportunities in Europe.

The report says economic hardship and soaring youth unemployment are now among the biggest drivers of migration.

‘Some of the drivers of outward migration in Botswana are high levels of unemployment, especially among the youth, as well as the perceived availability of better economic opportunities abroad,’ the document states.

The government also admits that the growing desperation among young people is exposing them to criminal syndicates and human traffickers who prey on vulnerable job seekers.

‘The increase in migration of Batswana has presented the country with several challenges, one of which is human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable groups,’ the report warns.

Botswana has now been identified as a ‘source, transit and destination country’ for human trafficking victims, particularly women and children.

The report reveals that young Batswana are increasingly falling victim to deceptive recruitment schemes, fake overseas job offers and online fraud linked to international trafficking networks.

‘The country continues to face emerging risks and threats relating to the exploitation of young people, including deceptive recruitment practices, misinformation and online fraud, which have subjected Batswana to human trafficking,’ the report states.

The migration report warns that labour mobility is no longer being driven solely by ambition, but increasingly by economic distress.

‘It is apparent that migration dynamics are now shaped by economic pressures, youth unemployment, and emerging challenges such as recruitment risks and transnational organised crime,’ the report says.

Suggesting that economic hardship is fuelling the crisis, the authors of the report urged the government to urgently invest in prevention measures before the situation worsens.

‘The Government must continue to invest in ethical recruitment approaches, public awareness campaigns, early detection and warning systems, and youth employment initiatives so that there can be a reduction in vulnerabilities and migration-related risks,’ the report says.

It adds: ‘Investing in preventative approaches is more cost-effective than investing in response measures.’

The current shortage of medical supplies in healthcare facilities country wide is exposing nurses to abuse from patients. Nurses and Mid-wives are often the first point of contact for patients and they have to bear the anger, frustration and disappointment of the public over circumstances beyond their control.

The revelation was made by Botswana Nurses Union(BONU) President Oreeditse Kelebakgosi during the commemoration of the Botswana Nurses Day in Shakawe village last week. He reiterated that the worsening situation has left many nurses and midwives vulnerable to abuse which includes insults, intimidation and in some cases, threats from members of the community.

Botswana has faced a severe, on going shortage of essential medicine supplies in public health facilities throughout 2025 and 2026. Shortages include chronic illness medications for diabetes, cancer treatment, TB and HIV/Aids.

Kelebakgosi said it was deeply unfair for health professionals who continue to serve with dedication under difficult conditions in the quest to save lives to become targets of frustration caused by systematic failure and challenges.

‘The theme today caters for fair wages, safe working conditions, adequate staffing and commitment to nursing education and training as well as respect for the nursing profession. A nurse must not beg for better conditions of services looking at the delicate role that they play in communities, individuals and national health,’ he said.

He emphasized that when nurses are empowered, lives are saved and the nation stands stronger and healthier. He stated that there is need of provision of resources for delivery of quality health care services.

Among other important issues, Kelebakgosi said one other critical path to empower nurses and midwives lives is the ratification and domestication of the ILO Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977(No.149). He said it is worrisome that Botswana remains among the few nations yet to take this progressive step.

‘The convention sets out clear standards on fair working conditions, adequate staffing, professional development and the protection and dignity of nursing personnel,’

‘By aligning our national laws and policies with this global framework, we would not only safeguard the welfare of our nurses and midwives but also strengthen the quality of care delivered to our people, hence saving lives,’ said Kelebakgosi.

BONU has also implored government to employ and absorb nurses and midwives across Botswana. There are currently 797 nurses and midwives who are unemployed. Kelebakgosi demanded immediate action to address staffing gaps in all government health institutions. He added that the current situation undermines quality health care for every citizen. He further called for government to review the Nursing and Midwifery Acct and its regulations.

‘It has been years since the Nursing and Midwifery Act and its regulations were reviewed, we call for their finalization. Please monitor this institution closely as it faces urgent challenges that require attention,’ said Kelebakgosi.

He also urged government to upgrade some primary hospitals to District hospital status with proper equipment and specialist personnel to save lives, improve access, and ensure timely service delivery.

Former President Festus Mogae’s death has triggered the expected tributes: the statistics, the statesmanship, the global acclaim. The world remembers the Nobel worthy HIV/AIDS response, the fiscal discipline, the calm stewardship of a country that often seemed too sensible for the chaos of its region.

But there is another side to Mogae’s legacy that deserves equal remembrance, one that may never fit neatly into official speeches.

It is the story of a president who understood that democracy is not tested by how leaders treat their friends, but how they treat their critics.

And I know this because I was one of his fiercest critics. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, as Editor of Botswana Guardian, I had together with my colleague Ernest Chilisa, waged a relentless editorial war against Mogae and his administration. We published stinging exposes on his role in the Owens Corning North South Carrier Water Scandal. We questioned his leadership style. One of our most controversial stories – ‘The Shrinking President’ – became symbolic of a newsroom that refused to genuflect before power.

The response from government was swift and punitive. The Mogae administration withdrew government advertising from the Botswana Guardian and its sister publication, The Midweek Sun. It was an economic embargo meat to suffocate independent journalism.

We fought back in court.

And in a judgement that would become a landmark for media freedom in Botswana, Justice Isaac Lesetedi ruled in our favour. That ruling mattered because, under Mogae, institutions still possessed enough independence to embarrass the state. Today, government still operates an undeclared advertising ban against the private media. But no media house dares challenge it in court anymore. Not because the precedent disappeared, but because confidence in institutional independence has eroded so profoundly that editors and publishers fear the judiciary itself may no longer defend the principle it once upheld.

That contrast may be one of the clearest measures of Mogae’s legacy.

Ironically, my deepest understanding of the man came not during battle, but during an unexpected act of grace. Sometime in June 2006, I received one of the most unlikely phone calls of my career. The voice on the other end of the line was from the Office of the President, informing that Mogae wanted me to join him on a trip to Japan for ‘Botswana Week’ in Tokyo.

I was stunned.

At the time, our relationship with government was openly hostile. I had recently left Botswana Guardian to co-found the Sunday Standard together with Spencer Mogapi and Professor Malema. We were struggling to survive a hostile takeover bid.

Peo Venture Capital, then jointly owned by Debswana and De Beers had funded the newspaper. But the late Louis Nchindo had approached Peo seeking to buy their controlling stake in the Sunday Standard. We were given 30 days to match his offer or lose the newspaper.

It was a terrifying moment. Nchindo’s influence within Botswana’s corporate and political establishment was immense. No commercial bank wanted to antagonize a man so closely associated with Debswana by financing us against him.

So when Mogae’s invitation arrived, Japan was honestly the last place I wanted to be. But I accepted, anyway. And somewhere in Tokyo, during what began as a casual conversation, Mogae asked how the Sunday Standard was doing. Eventually the discussion drifted towards Nchindo’s attempted takeover.

I expected indifference. Perhaps even quite satisfaction. Instead, Mogae surprised me. He asked why we had not approached Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) for funding.

I laughed off the idea. Given our long and bitter history with government, I told him it was inconceivable that a state-owned institution would finance people who had spent years attacking the presidency.

Mogae disagreed. Firmly. ‘The fact that you have a hostile relationship with government does not make you any less Motswana or patriotic’, he told me. ‘We have had an adversarial history and we will probably have and adversarial future. It is the occupational hazard of the careers we have chosen, but that does not take away your citizenship rights to benefit from citizen empowerment schemes.’

That sentence revealed more about Festus Mogae than a thousand polished tributes ever could. He understood something many African leaders never do: the state does not belong to the ruling party. Government resources are not rewards for loyalty and citizenship rights do not expire because one is inconvenient to power.

CEDA eventually funded us. We bought out Peo. And the Sunday Standard survived.

At Mogae’s memorial service this week, the then CEDA Managing Director, Dr. Thapelo Matsheka publicly confirmed the behind the scenes pressure surrounding the decision. ‘Rre Nchindo had leveraged his friendship to President Mogae and would come heavy on me’, Matsheka recalled.

‘Rre Nchindo was livid and went to report at Mogae’s office. I was again called to explain myself. Mogae understood my position and let it be.’

Then came the line that perfectly captured Mogae’s dry humor and appreciation for institutional independence.

‘I reminded Rre Mogae later, when he had a fallout with Nchindo, that if he had interfered, Nchindo would have been using the paper to bash him, and he laughed.’

That laughter matters. Because it reflected a rare confidence in democratic contestation, confidence in criticism, confidence in institutions stronger that personalities. In fact, he publicly stated that he believed in strong institutions and not strong men.

Mogae was not a perfect president. No honest tribute should pretend otherwise. His administration could be cold, technocratic and occasionally heavy-handed. His government did punish the media economically. Many journalists, myself included experienced that hostility directly. But even at his most adversarial, there remained lines he would not cross. He understood that institutions matter more than temporary political victories. He understood that courts must sometimes rule against the state. He understood that empowerment institutions should not become political weapons. He understood that a newspaper critical of government still has a right to exist. And perhaps most importantly, he understood that leadership requires enough self-confidence to tolerate dissent.

That culture feels increasingly endangered today. In an era were criticism is often treated as treason, where institutions are expected to kneel before political power and where access to state resources increasingly appears contingent on political loyalty, Mogae’s conduct now feels almost unfashionably democratic.

This may ultimately become one of his greatest legacies. Not merely that he governed Botswana competently. But that he governed it without demanding that everyone become his poodle.

Botswana has strengthened its influence within continental politics after traditional leader Kgosi Mosadi Seboko was elected Deputy Chairperson of the Southern Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). Kgosi Seboko holds the position of hereditary monarch of the Ba-Ga-Malete and serves as a member of Botswana’s Ntlo ya Dikgosi, an institution through which traditional leadership contributes to consultative processes on governance, and matters of national significance. Seboko’s appointment places Botswana in a strategic leadership position within one of Africa’s key parliamentary structures, at a time when the continent is pushing for deeper regional integration, democratic governance and stronger cooperation on trade and security matters.

The Southern Caucus elected its new bureau last week, with Zimbabwe’s Pupurai Togarepi named Chairperson, Seboko taking the Deputy Chairperson role, and Lesotho’s Thabiso Lebese elected Rapporteur.

The Pan-African Parliament, established under the African Union, functions as the bloc’s legislative and advisory chamber, designed to amplify the role of African citizens and member states in continental governance and integration. While it does not yet exercise binding lawmaking authority, the body serves as a key forum for lawmakers from across Africa to deliberate on shared policy priorities and advance positions on issues affecting the continent.

Its mandate spans the promotion of regional integration, strengthening of democratic governance and accountability, and the provision of advisory input to AU structures on political, economic and social matters. It also engages in discussions aimed at conflict resolution and broader peace and security concerns.

Kgosi Seboko’s election is being viewed as a diplomatic gain for Botswana, which has long cultivated an image of political stability, constitutional democracy and consensus-driven leadership. Analysts say the appointment gives Botswana greater visibility in continental policymaking discussions and could strengthen its voice on regional priorities affecting Southern Africa.

Her rise is also symbolically significant. As a respected traditional leader and parliamentarian, Seboko represents the growing influence of women in African political leadership structures that have historically been male dominated. The Southern Caucus itself is an important bloc within the Pan-African Parliament, bringing together lawmakers from countries across the Southern African region to coordinate positions on continental issues before broader PAP deliberations.

Observers say the new bureau will likely confront pressing regional challenges, including youth unemployment, climate pressures, cross-border crime, food insecurity and political instability in parts of the continent. Kgosi Seboko’s appointment could further enhance the country’s diplomatic footprint beyond the Southern African Development Community (SADC), positioning Gaborone more prominently in continental debates on governance and regional development.

The election comes as African institutions continue pushing for stronger parliamentary cooperation to accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the broader African Union Agenda 2063 vision.

Last week president Duma Boko hosted Rwanda’s Paul Kagame who was here on a state visit.

Now we hear that South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa too will be here quite soon.

In geopolitics there is hardly a coincidence.

Rwanda and South Africa are fighting on different sides in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In that conflict, which has been running since the late 1990s, South Africa, which is part of the United Nations backing the DRC government.

Rwanda is backing the M23 rebels that have since taken key cities in the east and have vowed to march all the way to Kingshasa, not altogether unfounded given not only their momentum but also the weakness of the government forces.

At one point no less than ten countries were involved in the DRC water, including Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. More than twenty five years later the war still rages on.

At stake is the rare earth mineral wealth of the DRC, much of dug from the east of that country.

A few months ago, a war of words erupted between Kagame and Ramaphosa after a number of South African soldiers were killed.

The DRC, it must be pointed out has never known real peace for a very long time.

The situation in the DRC is so intricate and so unpredictable that former president Joseph Kabila who basically backed the current president Felix Tshisekedi to succeed him has now switched sides and is now fully behind M23.

In the meantime Tshisekedi’s government has sentenced Kabila to death in absentia.

The United States has recently become actively interested in getting the war resolved.

Other than president Donald Trump’s ego trip to be seen to be dowsing fires of war across the world, the United States will definitely want to dislodge the Chinese by way of putting their handle on the DRC rare earths.

Bringing peace to the DRC has proved exceedingly difficult not least because of the mistrust that exists between the regional players.

Rwanda has rejected many of the possible mediators, accusing them of not only bias but conflict of interest as well.

There is evidence that Rwanda is warming up to Botswana.

While this was the first state visit by Kagame to Botswana, it is worth noting that he had previously paid a short working visit during the presidency of Mokgweetsi Masisi.

This is very rare, by Kagame’s standards.

Can Botswana play a role in bringing peace to the DRC.

That would not be unprecedented.

The late Sir Ketumile Masire spent a lot of time trying to bring the warring factions of the DRC together.

At one point those factions descended on Gaborone under the facilitation of Masire and I had an opportunity to interview quite a few of them including Professor Ernest Wamba dia Wamba and also Jean-Pierra Bemba.

Again, we must add Tshisekedi of the DRC who is a very key player in all that is going on in the DRC paid a state visit to Botswana when Masisi was still President.

A big prize awaits whoever can bring lasting peace to the DRC.

Now with the backing of the United States, giving it another shot is something that Botswana government could consider.

Botswana has always punched way above its weight.

The country has solid credentials.

We also have internationalist pretensions and ambitions too.

Peace in the DRC will need to have a backing of South Africa.

And unlike Masisi before him, president Boko has cordial relations with Ramaphosa of South Africa.

Of course, the enduring problems will be much more than just security, as Kagame is wont to say. Nor will it be all about the minerals as Tshisekedi likes to point out.

It will be about egos.

Kagame has no regard for Tshisekedi. And on numerous occasions he has publicly accused him of incompetence, reminding the world that he is not surprised because the guy was driving taxis in Belgium until somebody told him to come and become president in the DRC.

Rwanda has ambitions to become a continental superpower

South Africa already is.

And again, Kagame has no regard for Ramaphosa.

The contempt is mutual. Which will give president Boko a hard task to think around.

Some people call Kagame a warlord.

Others call him a strongman. Both descriptions are not far off.

A few years ago I visited Rwanda. The infrastructure developments in Kigali compare with the best in the world.

World class Hotels are everywhere, including the famous one of the movie Hotel Rwanda.

But that all those amount to a veneer underneath which is a police state, tightly controlled by Kagame, his army, intelligence and security.

That said, you have to give the man credit.

He is thorough and forthright.

He is discreet as he intellectually serious.

He is meticulous and brave.

And he loves his country.

It is not usual to find such descriptions referring to one person. No wonder he has been doing as he likes in Rwanda for over two decades.

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe once complained of the ‘little Rwanda.’ Mugabe backed Laurent Kabila.

They are now both dead.

Kagame is still here.