Botswana authorities have dismantled a deeply entrenched cross-border criminal network allegedly linked to prominent business figures and politically exposed individuals, marking a major escalation in the country’s crackdown on illicit tobacco trafficking.

A violent turf war has broken out inside Gaborone Maximum Prison, where rival inmate factions are believed to be battling for control over a lucrative black market operating within the facility.

With just days to go before the April 30 deadline, Botswana’s anti-corruption inquiry has called in senior white-collar crime investigators, signaling the high stakes of a sweeping forensic audit ordered by President Duma Boko. Experts from the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) have joined forces with prosecutors from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to quietly pore over a forthcoming report from Dubai-based auditors Alvarez & Marsal Middle East Limited. The final findings,...

Former Lobatse Member of Parliament Thapelo Matsheka has drawn a firm line regarding his political future, unequivocally ruling out any immediate return to frontline politics. This stance comes amid rising tensions and internal power struggles within the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) over who should lead the party into the crucial 2029 general election. Matsheka insists that he will not accept or pursue any political position until he has fully cleared his name in a highly...

The government has unveiled a revamped public works initiative, promising increased wages and a shift from short-term relief efforts toward long-term economic empowerment. The newly introduced Ikageng Public Works Programme (IPWP), overseen by the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, was launched this month. It is set to begin phased payments of P2,500 to beneficiaries. Concurrently, the ministry is developing a centralized database to prevent overlap between recipients of the Ikageng programme and the...

Botswana has launched a landmark project that signals its emergence as a powerhouse in Africa’s clean energy future. On Thursday in Maun, the government broke ground on a 500-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant paired with a 500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS), a move that will reshape the country’s energy landscape and position it among the continent’s leaders in energy storage development. This ambitious undertaking, a collaboration between Botswana and the Sultanate of Oman, is...

Barely a year into his tenure as chairman of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Karabo Gare finds himself at the center of growing internal turmoil within the party. His leadership, which began with high hopes to restore the party’s prominence, is now being tested by deepening factional divides that threaten to unravel the BDP’s fragile unity. Once the dominant political force in Botswana for decades, the BDP is still grappling with the severe consequences of...

Mpho Balopi, the president of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), is currently navigating a turbulent political storm as internal tensions within the party escalate sharply. This unrest has been fueled by reports suggesting that Balopi may soon face legal proceedings tied to a corruption investigation. Sources close to the party’s central committee have disclosed that a significant faction within the BDP is urging Balopi to temporarily step aside from his leadership role. This call for...

Peter Magosi, the Director of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), has publicly pushed back against lawmakers following parliamentary discussions centered on his recent marriage to a fellow officer. The debate, which many see as unusually personal for a legislative setting, has drawn significant attention and stirred controversy. Magosi expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that the focus should remain on national priorities rather than his private affairs. “I was disappointed and hurt that Members of...

A Congo-bound arms shipment was intercepted and halted at the Martin’s Drift Border Post, raising serious questions about transparency, protocol breaches, and the ultimate destination of the cargo. Law enforcement officials stopped a covert military shipment linked to Denel SOC Ltd as it attempted to pass through Botswana en route to the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo. The shipment, carried in a single mini truck, was seized along with the detention of its driver. Investigations...