‘Bazooka’ - A know-holds-barred political approach
Ryder Gabathuse | Tuesday March 24, 2026 08:39
“It’s true that I have won successive elections under different political brands, and the secret is that I work very closely with the people. I always make an effort to understand people’s problems and find long-lasting solutions,” explains the outspoken legislator who spent most of his life in opposition politics before UDC usurped power from the BDP in the 2024 polls.
Mmolotsi’s primary party, the AP, is part of a tripartite coalition government with the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP).
Mmolotsi’s main forte is that the ruling party legislator and Minister of Environment and Tourism in President Duma Boko’s first administration, prioritises his constituents’ needs. He ensures he is accessible and actively working on their issues, even during parliamentary recesses. Upon realising that his constituents were struggling to bury their loved ones, he became the first MP to empower his constituents with a funeral scheme administered by the Funeral Services Group (FSG). He has ensured his constituents get decent burials despite their economic status. It’s an investment people will never forget, even on polling day. In a written response this week, Mmolotsi acknowledges that the AP is a household brand in his constituency, and this is because of the confidence and trust that people in the area have in him.
Francistown South is located in a wider Francistown city, which is considered a lower-income area, with about 23% of residents earning below the poverty datum line, which is set at P400 per month.
The average monthly income is around P801.32, with many residents engaged in informal sector work or micro-enterprises, such as food services, hairdressing and selling fruits and vegetables. However, in terms of socioeconomic status, Francistown is classified as having medium human development with a Human Development Index score lower than the national average for Botswana. The city’s poverty incidence is around 16.3 % nationally, but specific data for Francistown South is not readily available.
Francistown South constituency has seven elected councillors, and six of them are members of the AP, under the UDC, a sure sign that his party continues to make an impact in the area. Mmolotsi was able to ward off challenges from another opposition stalwart, Vain Mamela of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), who has since relocated to Francistown East after failing to unseat Mmolotsi.
Mamela is the founding MP for Francistown West after winning the 1994 General Election under the BNF ticket.
Mmolotsi’s winning streak have also frustrated Khumongwana Maoto, who won the seat once before Mmolotsi stamped his authority in the constituency since the 2009 polls to date. Maoto was a BDP MP for a single term in the ninth Parliament (2004-2009).
Mmolotsi is also known for his philanthropic work in his constituency, and that has informed his outlook on life. He is steadfast that people’s challenges feed his zeal to always help and find solutions to such problems. His former colleague and former MP Samson Moyo Guma remembers his heydays with Mmolotsi.
“He is a man with a big heart. He is capable though of adapting to any political situation when the need arises without losing himself,” says Guma, adding that “he is a fighter and defender of those around him. Currently I rank him as the best of ministers in the UDC government”.
Mmolotsi is a prominent politician in Botswana and a seasoned political leader with years of experience in agriculture, education, and sales management, and has been representing Francistown South since 2009. His style of political rally makes him a must-watch politician. He is a rabble-rouser who employs a combination of bread-and-butter issues, entertainment politics and sharp character assassination in his rallies.
There are circulating videos of Mmolotsi, often whacked by the moniker ‘Bazooka’ for his fire-spitting and fiery brand of politics. In his element, the man does not spare anyone, as demonstrated by the old videos that tear politicians to pieces, including his current chums in the ruling UDC government. Literally, a bazooka gun means a portable rocket launcher used by infantrymen as an anti-tank weapon.
So, Mmolotsi has a penchant for firing political salvos at his political addresses, given a chance. Since he was appointed a Minister of State, he is yet to present that form of politics the way he did from the opposition aisle. He explains that the name Bazooka comes from his rally approach of being straight and blunt to issues, a know-it-all kind of approach, which has earned him allies and nemeses.
He is a marvel to watch behind the microphone, raising nostalgic reminiscences of the late luminaries like Paul ‘Ostrich’ Rantao, Maitshwarelo ‘Bombshell’ Dabutha, Dr Kenneth Shololo Koma, and Gilson Saleshando (surviving) amongst others. Mamela, a BCP stalwart, has remarkable similarities with Mmolotsi in terms of how they both usually package their political messages.
Both politicians mix very well attacks on their opponents (character assassination and bread-and-butter issues) with entertainment politics.
They can both cut their opponents to size and, at the same time, light up their rallies with incessant bouts of laughter. In 2010, shortly after he was elected an MP, Mmolotsi was expelled from the only party that he had grown up admiring so much because of family influence. Just after the 2009 polls, the BDP held internal elections, which were won by the Barata-Phathi faction, to which Mmolotsi belonged, against the dominant faction then known as the A-team. He had chosen to miss the disciplinary hearing for attending a factional meeting where the formation of a breakaway party from the BDP, known as the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) was discussed. Others who faced similar charges included Botsalo Ntuane, Gilbert Mangole and Samson Moyo Guma, also associated with the formation of a new party. Others would later stream back to the BDP, but Mmolotsi remained with the BMD until he joined the AP (a breakaway party from the BMD) following the aborted tumultuous elective congress in Bobonong, where he is the vice president today.
Former president Ian Khama presided over the disciplinary and expulsion of Mmolotsi and company from the BDP.
It is political developments like these that have tried and tested Mmolotsi’s political prowess and the sturdy politician he is today.
Indeed, the political experiences of the past he faced render him an indefatigable fighter.
Mmolotsi’s political journey is quite the rollercoaster. He has represented Francistown South since 2009, switching parties a few times along the way.
He started with the then-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in 2009, then moved to the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in 2014 and later joined the Alliance for Progressives (AP) in 2019, winning the only seat for AP that election.
He returned to the UDC in 2024. Mmolotsi’s adaptability and resilience in the political arena have earned him recognition, becoming the longest-serving MP in the 13th Parliament.
Before diving into politics, Mmolotsi had a stint in the classroom. He taught at secondary schools, sharing his knowledge and inspiring students.
His experience in education likely shaped his leadership style and informed his approach to public service. His background in teaching and agriculture has also influenced his focus on community development and environmental conservation. His political interest developed at a young age and was sharpened at the university when he took an active interest in student politics.
“Teaching gave me confidence in advocacy and in facing challenges of different sizes and shapes. I taught learners from different backgrounds who had different needs and aspirations. I managed to handle these cases very well, and that gave me a head start on dealing with people,” he concedes. From his primary school, his grandfather, the late Solomon Madibeng Mmolotsi, used to assign the young Wynter to mount the public address system on his motor vehicle before starting on a political journey.
His grandfather was a then-ruling BDP councillor for 37 years at a ward previously known as Maipaafela, now the Botsalano ward. Wynter grew up admiring the way his grandfather went about his political business.
The young Wynter would find himself holding a dead mic mimicking his grandfather when addressing political rallies or kgotla meetings.
The legislator had noticed that he was destined to achieve greater things politically because, from a tender age, leadership skills had always manifested in different ways.
In the early 1980s, whilst at primary school, he was a class monitor for all the classes at his school, despite being the tiniest amongst his peers. At secondary school, he was a prefect all the way.
Towards the end of his first year at Swaziland University, where he did his tertiary education, he was elected president of the Botswana Students Union, which further spoke a lot about his leadership credentials.
Post teaching, Mmolotsi transitioned to become a publisher at Heinemann, which he believes was simply a halfway station to his political dream.
He’s known for his advocacy in conservation and sustainable tourism, recently receiving the Tourism Minister of the Year- Nature Conservation award at the PATWA International Travel Award.
PATWA is the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association, a global professional body that recognises excellence and outstanding contributions within the travel and tourism industry.
The PATWA international travel awards were held on the sidelines of the ITB Berlin Travel event, one of the world’s leading travel trade exhibitions. He received the exclusive excellence in governance accolades, affirming the country’s position as one of the world’s premier destinations for authentic, high-impact safari and wilderness tourism. His priorities include transforming the tourism sector to be more people-centric, promoting heritage tourism, and addressing human-wildlife conflicts. He’s also focused on ensuring local communities benefit from tourism and conservation efforts.
Some key factors contributing to Mmolotsi’s success include:
Intervening in unfair dismissal cases, reinstating many workers, and focusing on local issues like healthcare and infrastructure. He has held various positions, including the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee and Minister of Environment and Tourism, demonstrating his leadership capabilities; his work in promoting sustainable tourism and conservation has earned recognition, including the Tourism Minister of the Year award at ITB Berlin, and he is known for his impressive performance in parliamentary debates.
Mmolotsi is also praised for raising critical points and presenting well-researched arguments.