POST-COLONIAL BOTSWANA

Sofia Goodman

MINORITY RIGHTS

Botswana has been called the “Miracle of Africa” because of its diverse economy and transparent, healthy democracy. However, some of these successes in post-colonial Botswana were made possible through an over-emphasis on ethnic homogeneity. This myth of Botswanan exceptionalism is incongruous with the treatment and erasure of minority groups in Botswana.

The Twsana ethnic group includes 79% of the population
- The remaining population is 11% Kalanga, 3% Basarwa, and 7% other small groups
- The San are a small group of “traditional hunters and gatherers that live in the Kalahari region,” who have been historically marginalized and excluded from the country’s substantial economic progress and social development

The dominance of the Tswana enables them to control the and minimize perception of the diversity in Botswana. However, a small, brave group of LGBT activists called LeGaBiBo have recently been fighting for legal recognition and minority rights (homosexuality remains illegal in Botswana, as in most of Africa).

Members of LeGaBiBo (Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana) protesting the government's harsh anti-homosexuality laws in a recent court hearing

CENSORSHIP

Festus Mogae, president of Botswana from 1998 to 2008

In addition, the government of Botswana has recently grown increasingly averse to criticism and intolerant of opposition.

Kenneth Good, an Australian professor and “vocal critic of the government” was deported in 2005 by president Festus Mogae and prohibited from returning to the country.
Other foreign critics of the Botswana government are being targeted and required to obtain a visa before entering the country.

Since the nation’s independence, the BDP (Botswana Democratic Party) has ruled. This has bred a policial system based more on tradition and nationalism than a careful consideration of the issues, which resulted in an unusually ugly and contentious election cycle in 2014. UnlessBotswana can embrace the principles of transparency and equality so famously central to its national identity and history, the government may continue to slip unnoticed into corruption and censorship.