Category: Sunday Standard

Over the past few weeks, I have raised formal concerns regarding the upcoming Makgadikgadi Challenge, which is currently being marketed as taking place within the Nata Bird Sanctuary.

My concern is specific.

During the 2025 instalment of this event, sections of the Nata Bird Sanctuary were mechanically graded to create a horse racing track and concert venue within or near recognised flamingo feeding and breeding areas. This type of land alteration, together with large-scale activity and amplified sound, raises serious questions about the suitability of such events within a protected avian habitat.

Following the event, further concerns were observed regarding post-event stewardship. Litter, including broken bottles and other waste, remained uncleared in the area for an extended period exceeding 6 months. There were also concerns about a noticeable scarcity of flamingos in sections where they are commonly seen after the event period. These outcomes reinforce the need for careful environmental assessment and responsible management of any future activities in sensitive habitats.

In response, I have written to:

The outgoing Nata Conservation Trust Board (custodians of the Sanctuary) (term ended April 2026), letter dated 27th February 2026.

The new Nata Conservation Trust Board (elected 17th April 2026), letter dated 27th April 2026.

The Permanent Secretary at The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resource Conservation and Tourism, letter dated 27th February.

The Member of Parliament – Nata Gweta, letter dated 8th January 2026.

The Technical Advisory Board (TAC) to the Nata Conservation Trust, letter dated 27th April 2026

Other local stakeholders.

To date, I have not received substantive responses, while marketing of the 2026 event continues to reference the Sanctuary as its venue.

This is not about opposing development or events in the Makgadikgadi region. In fact, I strongly support responsible investment, tourism growth, cultural events, and new economic opportunities that bring value to local communities. The Makgadikgadi has vast potential for well-planned festivals, sporting events, adventure tourism, and hospitality development in suitable areas and at suitable times. My concern is simply that such growth must be located and timed in ways that do not compromise sensitive feeding and breeding habitats or undermine long-term conservation efforts.

It is about ensuring that:

Sensitive ecosystems are protected

Decisions are transparent and accountable

The community is properly consulted on the use of shared conservation land

Development is sustainable and benefits future generations

The Makgadikgadi Pans, and particularly the Nata Bird Sanctuary, are one of the most important feeding and breeding landscapes for flamingos in Southern Africa. Seasonal gatherings of flamingos, pelicans, and many other migratory and resident bird species create one of Botswana’s most unique wildlife spectacles, drawing birdwatchers, photographers, safari travellers, and nature enthusiasts from around the world.

This natural attraction has long supported tourism businesses in the area. Lodges, together with guides, camp operators, transport providers, restaurants, craft sellers, and many other local enterprises, have sustained jobs and livelihoods because visitors travel specifically to experience the birdlife and landscape of the Sanctuary.

Their protection is directly linked to the long-term sustainability of tourism and local livelihoods.

We have already seen what strong conservation can do for communities in Botswana.

The Chobe River helped build Kasane into a thriving tourism centre with jobs in lodges, guiding, transport, retail, and hospitality.

The Okavango Delta has done the same for Maun, creating one of the country’s most important economic hubs through conservation-led tourism.

The Nata Bird Sanctuary – with its flamingos, birdlife, and unique landscapes – holds similar long-term potential for Nata and the surrounding communities. But that potential depends on how well the environment is protected and managed today.

At a time when the Nata community is actively engaging with the future governance of its Trust, this is a moment to place stewardship, accountability, and vision at the centre of decision-making.

I encourage residents, stakeholders, and all interested parties to engage constructively on this matter. For the residents of Nata and surrounding villages, a kgotla platform may be an appropriate space for open discussion and shared understanding.

This is about protecting a critical ecosystem – and ensuring that decisions made today do not compromise the opportunities of tomorrow.

This past Friday, Botswana’s biggest football brand, Township Rollers, in partnership with Sogo, launched its own branded ice cream, Blue Magic. The launch marks Rollers’ new venture into the FMCG sector, a bold move towards the team’s sustainability. It is among many initiatives the team leadership have embarked on since taking over the reigns at the embattled Gaborone outfit.

Forsaken by financiers and with some of the touted sponsors who were unveiled at the beginning of the season nowhere to be found, Rollers found itself in dire straits. Bills mounted. Players’ salaries went unpaid. At one point, players even boycotted a scheduled match as they pressured the club to pay outstanding salaries.

In the midst of this, a mutiny ensued. The then Rollers executive committee jumped ship and an interim committee was ushered in. Just about two months after taking over, the interim committee suffered a setback as the then chairperson Nelson Onkabetse unexpectedly quit his role.

The leadership struggles coincided with struggles on the field of play. In their moment of despair, the interim committee co-opted Thapelo ‘Fish’ Pabalinga and Kaizer Sekaba as chairman and Public Relations Officer (PRO) respectively.

Amidst these difficult times, with no financiers in sight, Pabalinga and his committee knew they would have to adapt. As is sometimes said, they understood they have no luxury of waiting for the storms to pass. New strategies and initiatives were needed.

Among these is the adopt-a-player, an initiative which called on interested organisations, individuals and supporters to adopt a player and support their welfare. So far, through this initiative, some team branches have adopted players, thus reducing some of Rollers’ financial burden.

However, with self-sustainability as a priority, Rollers has moved to tap on to its massive following as a long-term solution. As the most followed sports team in the country, Rollers has robust presence in the social media space. The team’s Facebook page alone boasts of 472 000 followers, a testimony to its appeal.

To tap into this, Rollers recently called on companies and institutions to advertise on its Facebook page. The response has been as expected. ‘We are pleased to announce that corporates such as Stanbic Bank, Spar, Options and RedBull have already bought into the campaign – a very encouraging sign that Township Rollers is a marketable brand,’ Pabalinga told the media on Friday.

The invitation for other companies seeking ‘real, measurable visibility and increased sales’ is still open. It’s a win-win situation for all involved. Strong reach and engagement for advertisers and financial gain for Rollers.

Now is the team’s entry into the FMCG sector, another bold move to turn the team’s brand into actual financial gain. Here, Rollers is again tapping into its strong supporter base as well as the goodwill of ice cream lovers to drive its financial self-sustainability drive.

‘Blue Magic will be sold at all our games, and at retail outlets countrywide, some of which are already our partners explained previously … and rolled out to additional retail partners to ensure easy access for fans and the public. Township Rollers as a team will earn 35 percent of the gross sales of the ice cream,’ Pabalinga says.

And this may just be the start. The Rollers chairman hints that the team may venture more into the FMCG sector with new products. ‘Our vision is that one day when you go shopping, there will be a whole isle packed with Rollers’ products manufactured in partnership with various brands. Why can’t we for instance have a Rollers loaf of bread? When our supporters go to buy bread daily, they will do it fully aware that some of the proceeds will go towards the team. This is the vision that we would like to see.’

Interestingly, the launch of the Blue Magic ice cream coincides with the upturn of the team’s fortunes in the field of play. Under the guidance of Tor Thodesen, Rollers are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Though the surge in good results have come late in the campaign when the title was already out of contention, it sets a solid base for the team to build on in the coming season.

While Thodesen’s contract is short term and comes to an end at the end of the season, Pabalinga believes there is a huge possibility for renewal. Even better, the team is engaged in negotiations with potential sponsors and financiers. There is a huge belief within the team that something good will happen in the not-so-distant future in regards to this.

However, for the team’s followers, success means silverware. Flickers of promise are there that the team is experiencing a revival. But whether Rollers has now truly found its Blue Magic to success, only time will tell!

A new United Nations assessment has warned that Botswana’s celebrated development model is approaching a critical inflection point and growing governance pressures following the country’s historic 2024 political transition.

The United Nations country analysis cites growing structural weaknesses in governance, human rights compliance and national data systems at a time of rising economic and political pressure. The assessment describes Botswana’s development path as shifting ‘from exceptional performance to structural inflection.’ It warns that longstanding strengths in governance and macroeconomic management are increasingly constrained by institutional fragmentation, capacity gaps and emerging socio-economic pressures.

The report notes how that at the centre of the concerns is Botswana’s evolving human rights architecture. While the Office of the Ombudsman was granted a human rights mandate in 2023 and now serves as the country’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), the United Nations notes that it is still not aligned with the Paris Principles governing independence and effectiveness of such bodies.

This gap, the UN says, raises questions about institutional autonomy and credibility at a time when rights-based governance is becoming increasingly important. Botswana has ratified six of the nine core United Nations human rights treaties, but has yet to accede to key instruments including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the migrant workers convention, and the convention on enforced disappearances.

UN human rights mechanisms have repeatedly flagged concerns over the death penalty, corporal punishment, treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, and detention conditions. During its 2023 Universal Periodic Review, Botswana received additional recommendations to accede to the ICESCR, some of which it accepted, signalling partial alignment but continued policy hesitation.

The United Nations also raises concerns about weakening statistical systems, warning that disruptions in labour force reporting by Statistics Botswana have created critical gaps in economic analysis.

Operational and financial constraints have affected the publication of Quarterly Multi-Topic Survey (QMTS) labour data, limiting policymakers’ ability to accurately assess employment trends. The report warns that without timely and disaggregated data, including on poverty, labour markets, and national accounts, Botswana risks weakening its evidence-based policymaking capacity at a time when fiscal and social pressures are increasing.

The analysis comes in the wake of Botswana’s historic 2024 general elections, which ended decades of uninterrupted rule by the Botswana Democratic Party and ushered in a new governing coalition.

While the transition is described as a landmark democratic moment, the UN warns it has also increased pressure on institutions already facing capacity constraints. Combined with weaker economic growth, fiscal tightening, and rising unemployment, the shift has heightened demands on the state to maintain service delivery while pursuing structural reforms.

Using a systems-thinking approach, the United Nations warns that Botswana’s challenges are interconnected rather than sector-specific. Weak job creation feeds into inequality; inequality undermines social cohesion; fiscal constraints limit investment in education, health, and infrastructure; and institutional fragmentation reduces policy coherence across government.

The United Nations argues that Botswana’s long-term development success will depend on strengthening institutional independence, improving human rights compliance, and rebuilding statistical and planning systems.

Without these reforms, the report warns, the country risks slowing its transition toward a more inclusive, resilient, and diversified economy.

Since its inception, Batanani walk has played an important role in supporting communities and driving social change in Botswana. What started as a fundraising initiative has grown into a national platform that addresses some of the country’s biggest social challenges.

This year, the walk is placing child safety and access to justice at the centre of its campaign, highlighting the urgent need to protect children from abuse and strengthen support systems for victims. Mascom Wireless says the 2026 theme, ‘Step Up for Child Safety’, reflects the company’s commitment to helping create safer communities and ensuring children have access to protection and justice.

The campaign was introduced in Gaborone on April 27 and is expected to raise awareness about violence against children, encourage reporting of abuse cases and support institutions that work directly with vulnerable children.

Mascom said the initiative forms part of its wider social responsibility programme and continued partnership with communities. The company noted that child protection remains one of the most pressing social issues facing Botswana today.

According to the Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), many children continue to experience different forms of abuse, with girls being particularly vulnerable. The survey found that among children aged between 13 and 17 who have ever had sexual intercourse, one in four girls experienced unwanted sex during their first sexual encounter, while one in twenty boys reported the same experience.

The report also showed that most abuse cases are never reported to authorities, with only 10 percent of victims coming forward. Fear, intimidation, stigma and lack of trust in reporting systems remain some of the major barriers preventing children and families from seeking help.

Mascom said this year’s campaign seeks to challenge that silence by encouraging communities to speak out and support victims of abuse.

The company added that improving child-friendly services and strengthening systems within law enforcement are important steps in ensuring children feel safe when reporting cases.

Mascom Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Boipelo Matenge said businesses have a responsibility to contribute towards solving social challenges affecting communities.

She said companies should use their influence and resources to support causes that improve lives and create safer environments for vulnerable groups.

Matenge said the Batanani Walk continues to show the power of partnerships between the private sector, government institutions and communities in addressing national issues. ‘As a business rooted in connecting people, we recognise that connectivity also means being one with the communities we serve,’ she said.

She added that supporting child protection initiatives requires deliberate action and long-term commitment from all sectors of society.

Mascom said proceeds from the walk will help refurbish and furnish selected centres across the country to improve the conditions under which children access justice and protection services. The company also highlighted the continued involvement of Mascom Chief Executive Officer Dzene Makhwade-Seboni in child welfare initiatives through her role as chairperson of the UNICEF Children’s Council.

Mascom has called on members of the public, businesses, government and civil society organisations to take part in the walk on Saturday, August 8, 2026. The company believes collective action remains important in ensuring every child in Botswana grows up in a safe environment and has access to justice when abuse occurs.

Botswana’s worsening gender-based violence (GBV) crisis has drawn sharp criticism from international diplomats with some accusing President Duma Boko and his government of relying on rhetoric, prayer meetings and public relations while women continue to die in alarming numbers.

This emerges from a newly released United Kingdom fact-finding mission report titled ‘Country Policy and Information Note; Botswana: Women fearing gender-based violence.’ The report which was released by UK’s Home Office paints a picture of frustration among diplomats, civil society organisations and international partners over Botswana Government’s handling of GBV.

The report reveals growing concern that despite the new administration presenting itself as human-rights centred, there has been little meaningful action to protect women since taking power in October 2024.

‘But since the election [of the government in October 2024] there have been executive/high level statements that have been perceived by CSOs as discouraging, a bad signal,’ a diplomat at the French embassy in Gaborone was quoted as saying in the report.

‘ The statements are usually made in conferences but then are plastered in the media. OFFICIAL 1 [noted the president] made a declaration about GBV that was perceived as putting the blame on women,’ says the report.

‘There is strong rhetoric but not much political will and there haven’t been any substantive changes to legislation,’ one international diplomatic source told the UK mission.

The diplomat said Botswana continued to grapple with deeply entrenched patriarchy despite the new government’s promises.

‘The government portray themselves as a human-rights based government, saying they want to put human rights at the centre of everything that they do. But Botswana is still a patriarchal society which is quite conservative,’ the source is quoted s saying in the report.

Another international diplomatic source dismissed government efforts as inadequate and symbolic.

‘Last week the country had a week of prayer organised by the government against GBV,’ the diplomat said.

The diplomat was quoted as saying; ‘I am Christian, I believe in prayer, but more is needed than just holding hands and praying. I don’t see any tangible change. I do not see that the government intends to change things.’

The report comes amid growing public anger over brutal killings of women and mounting calls from activists for GBV to be declared a national emergency.

A United Nations official interviewed during the fact-finding mission said frustration with government silence had reached dangerous levels following a wave of rape and murder cases during the 2024 festive season.

‘People had been demanding to see the president [speak about] the situation of GBV in this country. Unfortunately for the political leadership, in the general sense, the public is getting a bit frustrated. The president also made some unfortunate remarks [about GBV] recently; There was a public outcry to say that this is not on and that we need to declare this thing a national emergency,’ the UN official was quoted s saying.

The diplomat reportedly added that ‘Unfortunately, there was a lot of silence from the government side, and people were frustrated that even the minister of gender was quiet.’

The official further criticised remarks made by Boko during the height of the outrage, saying they triggered backlash from civil society groups.

According to the report, Boko reportedly said he did not understand why people were talking specifically about GBV because Botswana was generally a violent society involving ‘men, women and children’.

‘That also attracted a lot of public outcry,’ the UN official noted.

Civil society organisations have since intensified pressure on government to formally declare GBV a national emergency to unlock resources and fast-track interventions.

‘There was a meeting of CSOs about two weeks ago where they were strategizing about approaching the presidency,’ the official said.

‘The reasoning is that when we declare a national emergency, then you’ll allocate the necessary resources.’

The report also reiterated concerns raised by officials at Embassy of France in Botswana who described Botswana’s GBV crisis as severe and worsening.

French embassy officials cited the shocking murder of a woman inside the University of Botswana as evidence of the growing danger women face.

‘There was a woman killed inside of the University of Botswana which was quite shocking- that a person would go and kill inside a university, a sacred place,’ one French official said.

The diplomat noted reports that the victim had allegedly been subjected to threats before her death.

‘Usually for serious incidents a minister would go to the scene of the incident but we have not seen this, which speaks to how seriously this is being taken,’ the official said.

Despite increased media coverage under the new government, diplomats warned that there was still little concrete progress beyond speeches and symbolic gestures.

‘The government is really big on human rights,’ a French official said adding that ‘….Would expect women’s rights to be part of human rights.’

But the official added: ‘Nothing really happened afterwards-there was a week of prayers organised rather than something concrete to address the issue.’

The report quoted the official as saying the woman murdered at the University of Botswana was killed during the government’s anti-GBV week of prayer.

Boko’s press secretary Emang Bokhutlo-Mutapati did not respond to request for comment.

A fact-finding mission by the United Kingdom Home Office report seen by Sunday Standard has reveled that while Botswana is facing a gender-based violence crisis nobody at the government enclave appears to know the true scale of the problem.

According to the report titled ‘Country Policy and Information Note; Botswana: Women fearing gender-based violence’ paints a picture of a country paralysed not only by violence against women, but by an absence of official data on arrests, prosecutions and convictions.

The report reveals that despite repeated requests by the UK fact-finding mission team, Botswana authorities failed to provide statistics on how many GBV cases are investigated, prosecuted or result in imprisonment.

‘There are no official figures for the number of GBV cases which are arrested or prosecuted,’ the report states. It added that even the Botswana Police Service (BPS) had not supplied promised statistics by December 2025.

The report shows that the FFM team asked the BPS ‘whether the statistics will show that some of these GBV cases are prosecuted and lead to sentencing, and that people end up in prison for their crimes.’

‘ The OFFICIALS confirmed this. [NB the BPS did not supply the requested statistics in follow up correspondence,’ says the report.

The secrecy surrounding Botswana’s GBV crisis appears to extend across government institutions.

The French Embassy in Botswana also raised concern over the lack of transparency.

Diplomatic officials interviewed by the UK mission said the absence of statistics made it impossible to properly assess the national situation.

‘Nothing really happened afterwards,’ one official observed while discussing recent killings of women. ‘There was a week of prayers that was organised rather than something concrete to address the issue.’

In a chilling coincidence, a murdered University of Botswana employee was reportedly killed during that very week of prayer, the report quoted the French official as saying.

The report says ‘In n interview with the french embassy, The FFM team asked if the FE were aware of data on the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions.’

‘ The FFM team noted that there was a general lack of data, all evidence is anecdotal, therefore it is difficult to assess what is happening generally,’ notes the report.

It says one of the diplomats t the French embassy ‘acknowledged it was difficult to get a clear picture of the situation [without data], did not have more specific figures.’

A United Nations Population Fund official admitted the organisation had repeatedly requested statistics from authorities without success.

‘There’s usually a reluctance to share data,’ the official said.

The official reportedly added that; ‘You ask for that from the police. They’ll refer you to the courts. Access to administrative data… is quite a challenge. Where it involves law enforcement, it’s even harder.’

The report shows that the FFM team asked whether there were any numbers or data on how many women migrate from smaller villages and rural areas to towns such as Gaborone to avoid family issues, and numbers of cases of them being pursued?

‘UN OFFICIAL noted that [UNFPA] did not have such data. [Lack of data] was why they had been talking to government about trying to update the 2018 study. The reason they get to hear about cases is because they end up with the police again,’ the report says.

The official is also quoted as saying that ‘ A woman was moving from Kasane because her boyfriend was abusing her and we only [got] to know about it from the police report that ended up in the mainstream media. It’s not even all the reports that end up in the media.’

The official also stated that even data on teenage pregnancies or migration of abused women fleeing violent partners is difficult to obtain in Botswana.

The report says ‘She explained that there’s usually a reluctance [to share data]. You ask for that from the police. They’ll refer you to the courts. There’saccess to administrative data, whether it’s from Ministry of Health-the rates of teenage pregnancy, something as simple as that – [or elsewhere], is quite a challenge.’

‘The police are not so generous with their data,’ the official was quoted in the report as saying.

The UK mission says government claims that prosecution rates improved from 51 percent in 2021 to 68 percent in 2022 have also come under scrutiny.

But the report says authorities failed to explain what offences were included under GBV, how many actual cases were prosecuted, or which courts handled them.

Representatives of the Gender Affairs Botswana recalled a presentation made before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in May 2025 in which a Ministry of Justice representative allegedly cited only three successful abuse prosecutions.

‘The number was just appalling,’ the representatives said. She was quoted as saying; ‘Three successful, but there was no context of three out of how many.’

The report questions about whether Botswana truly understands the scale of violence facing women or whether authorities are deliberately keeping the public in the dark.

The report suggests that without reliable statistics, experts warn, policymakers cannot measure the effectiveness of interventions, identify repeat offenders, or track whether victims are receiving justice.

The government and the Botswana Police Service did not respond to request for comment.

Botswana’s cash-strapped parastatals have plunged deeper into debt, leaving taxpayers exposed to more than P1.6 billion in unpaid government loans as the Auditor General raises concern over weak oversight, broken repayment agreements and questionable use of public funds.

Government-owned entities including the Botswana Meat Commission, Air Botswana and Botswana Postal Services have failed to honour repayment obligations running into hundreds of millions of pula, according to the latest report by Auditor General Keneilwe Senyarelo.

The report shows mounting arrears, weak financial controls and public funds tied up in entities struggling to pay back state loans issued through the Public Debt Service Fund.

At the centre of the findings is the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), which owes government P368 million. Of that amount, P248 million was already in arrears by March 2023.

The Auditor General revealed that P160 million was due in 2019 while another P88 million became due in 2020, yet no repayments had been made.

‘Despite the Commission being unable to pay the years arrears, Government issued another loan in 2023 amounting to P120 000 000,’ Senyarelo noted in the report.

The report further stated that as at March 31, 2023, ‘there were no repayments made for the two outstanding loans.’

Air Botswana was also singled out for failing to service a P230 million government loan.

According to the Auditor General, the national airline has defaulted on repayments since the first instalment became due in 2021.

‘As at 31 March 2023, the balance on the loan stood at P230 000 000 and the loan was still in arrears as reported in the previous year,’ the report stated.

Botswana Postal Services was similarly criticised after delaying repayment of a P140 million loan.

The outstanding balance stood at P137.2 million after repayments only commenced in 2022 instead of the agreed 2017 start date.

‘I have not been provided with a satisfactory explanation for the failure to honour the repayment terms of the loan,’ Senyarelo wrote.

The Auditor General also raised serious concerns over a staggering P900.5 million advanced to the liquidator of the now-defunct Bamangwato Concession Limited (BCL).

The report revealed there was no clear loan agreement specifying repayment terms, repayment dates or interest rates.

‘Should it transpire that the amount advanced is not repayable for any reason, this would be inconsistent with the terms governing disbursements from the Fund,’ Senyarelo warned.

She stressed that the Fund Order requires disbursements ‘should not have the effect of depleting the fund but rather should grow it.’

The report also uncovered irregularities in the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund under the Ministry of Finance.

The audit found that some loans guaranteed under the scheme were used for purposes outside approved agricultural activities, including farm purchases, irrigation equipment and farm vehicles.

Among the questionable expenditures were loans worth over P11.5 million facilitated through the HYPERLINK ‘https://www.ceda.co.bw?utm_source=chatgpt.com’ t ‘_new’Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and the HYPERLINK ‘https://www.ndb.bw?utm_source=chatgpt.com’ t ‘_new’National Development Bank Botswana.

‘The inclusion of these items under the Scheme represents non-compliance to the established eligibility criteria,’ the Auditor General stated.

Management acknowledged the findings and said both institutions had been instructed to stop financing assets not covered by the scheme guidelines.

Meanwhile, the audit of COVID-19 procurement exposed what the Auditor General described as ‘nugatory expenditure’ after government paid P8 million in a court settlement linked to a cancelled tender for electronic movement tracking devices.

The tender, valued at P14.3 million, had been awarded in August 2020 before being terminated because the ministry allegedly had no budget for the purchase.

The contractor later sued government, resulting in an out-of-court settlement funded from the COVID-19 account.

‘The Ministry should not have entered into a contract for which they knew there were no budgeted funds,’ Senyarelo said.

She further criticised the decision to charge the settlement to COVID-19 funds, saying the money ‘was specifically allocated for the pandemic containment.’

A recent Afrobarometer survey reveals that majority of Batswana support the media’s role as a government watchdog and value media freedom, although the country remains sharply divided over whether journalists are truly free to operate without interference.

The survey paints a nuanced picture of a country long regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. While most Batswana back an aggressive watchdog press, many also believe media freedom has deteriorated in recent years.

Over three quarters of Batswana said the media should have the right to publish views and ideas without government control, placing Botswana among the strongest supporters of press freedom on the continent. ‘In several countries, support for media freedom exceeds three-fourths of the population, including Mauritius (86%), Seychelles (85%), Congo-Brazzaville (80%), Lesotho (77%), Chad (76%), and Botswana (76%),’ states Afrobarometer – a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.

According to the survey conducted across 38 countries in 2024 and 2025, the same proportion, 76%, also said the media should continuously investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption rather than avoid negative coverage that could ‘harm the country.’ The findings come as scrutiny intensifies over governance and accountability in Botswana following the release of several high-profile forensic and corruption-related investigations.

Confidence in the actual state of media freedom appears far less settled. Only 52% of respondents in Botswana said the media is ‘somewhat’ or ‘completely’ free to report without censorship or government interference, while 41% said the press ‘Not very/Not at all’ free.

Furthermore, Botswana recorded one of the continent’s steepest declines in perceptions of media freedom over the past five years. The share of citizens who believe the media is free fell by 20 percentage points between the 2019/2021 and 2024/2025 survey rounds, according to Afrobarometer data. Only Guinea, Lesotho and Nigeria registered sharper declines.

The survey suggests that even in countries where democratic institutions are relatively strong, public anxiety over media independence may be rising as political polarisation, state influence and pressure on journalists intensify across Africa.

Afrobarometer, a nonpartisan research network that surveyed 45,600 respondents across 38 African countries, found that support for media freedom remains a majority position across most of the continent. However, perceptions of whether the press is actually free remain deeply mixed.

In addition, the report also highlighted a broader contradiction. Africans who believe their media is already free are slightly less likely to defend unrestricted press freedom than those who believe journalists operate under constraints.

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.