Former President Ian Khama is gearing up for what could become one of Botswana’s most politically sensitive public inquiries in recent memory.
He plans to mobilize former cabinet ministers and senior government officials to defend the decision to close BCL Mine, as President Duma Boko’s administration moves forward with a Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
Nearly a decade after the collapse of BCL Mine sent shockwaves through Selebi-Phikwe, the debate over whether the government made the right call, and who should be held accountable, has returned to the national spotlight. Khama says he is ready.
The former president has vowed to ensure that “no facts are omitted” when the inquiry begins its examination of the winding down and liquidation of BCL and its subsidiaries.
This renewed scrutiny follows President Boko’s appointment of a Presidential Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the closure and liquidation of BCL, a move the government describes as necessary to promote transparency, accountability, and justice over a decision that devastated Selebi-Phikwe’s economy.
For thousands of former mine employees, businesses, and families in Selebi-Phikwe, the closure marked more than the end of mining operations. It represented the collapse of livelihoods, a sharp decline in economic activity, and long-term social hardships in a town built around one of Botswana’s strategic mining assets. Now the government wants answers.
Khama, however, remains steadfast that his administration made the right decision under extremely difficult economic circumstances.
“Based on the facts presented at the time, it was the right decision,” he said. “We were not going to continue pouring money into a bottomless pit, literally, that showed at the time no potential in the short to medium term for recovery, at a time when there were many more priority competing demands in the nation for the limited government resources.”
The former president also revealed plans to rally key figures from his administration ahead of the inquiry.
“I will also meet with some of my former cabinet ministers and officials,” Khama said.
His remarks signal what could become a politically charged confrontation between past government decisions and present demands for accountability.
Khama’s administration has long maintained that BCL had become financially unsustainable before its closure in October 2016, citing declining global copper and nickel prices, mounting operational expenses, and growing financial pressures that the government argued could no longer justify continued taxpayer support.
At the time, officials asserted that continuing to subsidize BCL would place unsustainable pressure on national finances and divert resources from other critical public priorities.
To Khama and his supporters, shutting down the mine was painful but unavoidable.
President Boko’s administration has framed the Judicial Commission of Inquiry as a crucial effort to uncover facts and determine whether proper procedures were followed before the government moved to liquidate one of Botswana’s most strategic mining operations.
The commission is expected to examine the decisions taken, assess the processes followed, and determine whether viable alternatives existed before BCL was ultimately shut down.
Former Advocate Judge Malcolm Wallace will chair the inquiry, leading a commission expected to have broad powers to call witnesses, review documents, and scrutinize the decision-making processes that led to the mine’s closure.
Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa, confirmed during parliamentary proceedings that preparations for the Commission of Inquiry are already underway.
As Botswana prepares to reopen one of its most painful economic chapters, the country could soon witness a high-stakes battle over accountability, governance, and a decision that continues to cast a long shadow over national politics.
What began as a mining closure nearly ten years ago is now evolving into a defining political reckoning over leadership, responsibility, and whether history will judge the decision to close BCL as necessary economic realism or a costly national mistake.