The Ministry of Health has confirmed the destruction of nearly two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including over half a million expired units, with a total value exceeding P16 million. This disclosure comes amid parliamentary inquiries into vaccine safety and administration practices in Botswana. Responding to questions from Leepetswe Lesedi, Member of Parliament for Serowe South, Assistant Minister of Health Lawrence Ookeditse provided detailed clarifications. He noted that the destroyed vaccines; 1,917,101 doses in total,...

…Warns of Escalating Debt and Fiscal Mismanagement Dumelang Saleshando, Leader of the Opposition in Botswana’s Parliament, delivered a sharp rebuttal to the 2026/2027 Budget Speech unveiled on Monday by Vice President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Gaolathe. Saleshando condemned the budget as “bad economics,” cautioning that it threatens to deepen the nation’s debt burden and destabilize its financial standing. In his detailed response to the fiscal proposals, Saleshando highlighted a troubling and widening gap between...

General Mpho Churchill Mophuting, Commander of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), recently undertook a strategic visit to the Botswana Innovation and Research Institute (BITRI) as part of his ongoing national engagement efforts. This visit focused on exploring how pioneering research and innovation can bolster Botswana’s defence readiness and ensure sustainable operational capabilities over the long term. Central to their discussions was the alignment of scientific advancements with the BDF’s shifting security priorities. General Mophuting’s dialogue...

  In Botswana, thousands of children are deprived of parental care, with the majority having lost their guardians to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, according to SOS Children’s Villages. Despite the government’s committed efforts to combat the epidemic, human suffering remains widespread, with nearly one in four adults aged 15 to 49 living with the virus. The economic repercussions are profound, as the disease predominantly strikes adults in their most productive years, leaving countless children...

The 2025 Administration of Justice (AOJ) annual report paints a stark picture of a justice system mired in paralysis, with Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases bearing the brunt of chronic resource shortages. Despite the introduction of specialized dockets intended to streamline these cases, the disposal rate for GBV matters has slipped to 44.88%, down from 46.08% in 2023. Notably, the report omits the breakdown of disposal rates and pending cases by individual magisterial stations; a detail...

Salia Mokobo, a pseudonym adopted to safeguard his professional reputation, shared a poignant account of how his parents’ divorce shattered his childhood and continues to reverberate through his adult life. Born in January 1993 as the youngest of four siblings, Mokobo was barely a year old when his mother filed for divorce in 1994. He later learned that the dissolution of their marriage stemmed from his father’s struggle with alcoholism and the ensuing physical and...

A former BPS Warder speaks out: The Prison environment breeds recidivism Behind the formidable gates of Moshupa Boys’ Prison, a poignant question lingers in the air: are these young lives being genuinely rehabilitated, or merely concealed from society’s view? As of December 2025, 191 boys found themselves confined within these walls. Among them, 91 had been convicted, while 98 remained in a judicial limbo, awaiting their turn in court, a daunting threshold at the outset...

  Manual Workers Union against his appointment as PSBC Secretary Legal missives exchanged between Motshwarakgole, Motsamai A fierce dispute has erupted within Botswana’s labor movement and public service sector over the appointment of Andrew D’Bois Motsamai as Secretary of the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC), igniting legal battles, accusations of defamation, and fractures among longstanding union leaders. What began as a routine voting process to fill key PSBC leadership roles has spiraled into a contest...

  David Tshere rules out joining any of UDC affiliate parties Minister Onneetse Ramogapi says they joined UDC directly Coalition’s constitution allows for individual direct membership Observers say UDC direct members avoiding primary elections The political landscape of Botswana has been shaken in recent years by a dramatic shift that ended the Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) ironclad grip on power, a reign that lasted nearly six decades since independence in 1966. The emergence of the...