Beggars on beaches of gold

City fathers say the churches are illegally occupying land and have not only become an eyesore but a source of noise pollution for residents. The churches themselves, many of them dating back to the 1950s, argue that the City first barred them from holding meetings in homes, then failed to allocate them land for their worship.

The happenings in Francistown are replicated around the country on a daily basis in an obscene homage to the irony that is land shortages in Botswana.