The new scramble for Africa’s mind

THOMAS NKHOMA | Monday June 15, 2026 06:00

Today, no one needs to redraw Botswana’s borders to diminish its sovereignty. All it takes is a smartphone, a fabricated headline, a network of anonymous social media accounts, and, in some cases, a few well-placed brown envelopes.

Now picture this. On May 4, Zambia’s Daily Nation published a sensational report on its Facebook page alleging that Botswana had cut electricity exports to South Africa and sealed its borders in response to xenophobic attacks against Batswana. To give the story emotional force, it attributed a dramatic quote to President Duma Boko: “We helped you fight oppression, and today our children are being humiliated”.

The quote was politically irresistible. It invoked liberation history, appealed to national pride and fed regional resentment. The story was entirely false, yet thousands reacted as though it were true. Some congratulated Botswana for taking a principled stand while others urged neighbouring countries to emulate what they believed was a bold act of retaliation.

Thus, a fiction had become a political event. Soon thereafter, Mmegi had to publicly disown a fabricated article titled, “Fans Advocate for Margaret Nasha’s Release After Controversial Interview”. The newspaper clarified that the article was fake and had not originated from any of its official platforms.

It is important to note that these incidents are not isolated acts of deception. In fact, they are examples of a larger and increasingly sophisticated threat known as Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference or FIMI. This is the strategic use of false, misleading or selectively framed information by foreign actors to influence another country’s politics, economy and social cohesion. It is the 21st-century equivalent of covert operations, except the battleground is not a military frontier but the public mind.

The goal is not merely to deceive but to shape how a society perceives reality. A country whose citizens can no longer distinguish truth from fabrication becomes easier to divide, intimidate, and influence. That is why powerful states and organised interest groups invest heavily in information operations. They seek to advance commercial interests, sway elections, weaken governments, poison diplomatic relations and steer public opinion in directions favourable to their strategic objectives.

The beauty of FIMI, from the perpetrator’s perspective, is its deniability. The message may be foreign, but the messenger often appears local. A manipulated narrative can be introduced through an ostensibly independent media outlet, a trusted commentator, a social media influencer, or a popular online troll. The target audience rarely sees the hidden hand behind the story, and this is where the ‘brown envelope’ sometimes enters the conversation. The brown envelope is not merely a petty act of journalistic corruption. In the context of FIMI, it is a tactical instrument of geopolitical influence.

Foreign actors with deep pockets understand that it is cheaper to buy a headline than to build a newsroom. They identify financially vulnerable journalists, struggling media houses and opinion leaders eager for patronage. Through payments, sponsored trips, consultancy fees, advertising contracts or other inducements, they secure favourable coverage or ensure that strategically crafted narratives are carried by local voices.

The result is information laundering. A story conceived in a foreign capital acquires local legitimacy because it appears under a familiar masthead or byline. Readers assume they are consuming independent journalism, unaware that they are in fact reading content shaped by external interests. Truth, in such circumstances, becomes a commodity while sovereignty becomes negotiable.

Botswana is particularly vulnerable because our information ecosystem is both open and financially fragile. Many media organisations operate under severe economic pressure. Journalists are often underpaid. Social media has disrupted traditional revenue models while the public increasingly consumes unverified content shared through WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok and X.

Philosopher Michel Foucault argued that power and knowledge are inseparable. Those who control narratives exercise power over what societies accept as true. FIMI is the practical application of that insight. Consequently, Botswana’s online space also includes highly polarising personalities such as Museveni and Happy Omang. Whatever their motives, their style of communication demonstrates how digital actors can shape public discourse through outrage, mockery and relentless repetition.

They are the artillery of the information age. Their posts can inflame tensions, undermine institutions and spread allegations at a pace that traditional journalism cannot match. Their anonymity or distance from formal accountability makes them especially potent. The danger is that public discourse becomes increasingly emotional and tribal. Facts are subordinated to loyalty. Institutions are judged not by evidence but by how effectively they can be caricatured. When this happens, democracy enters dangerous territory because FIMI attacks that foundation directly.

The consequences of FIMI are profound. It can incite xenophobia, damage bilateral relations, discourage investment, destabilise elections and erode confidence in both government and the media. It can turn citizens against one another and transform public debate into a contest of manufactured outrage which has now become a common phenomenon in Botswana.

How, then, should Botswana respond? First, we must recognise that information is now a domain of national security. Protecting sovereignty requires safeguarding the integrity of our public discourse.

Batswana must cultivate digital literacy and scepticism so that every viral story is interrogated before it is believed or shared. On the other hand, government, civil society, universities and the media should work together to build societal resilience through public education, rapid fact-checking and coordinated responses to disinformation.

Botswana has defended its democracy for nearly six decades through adherence to the rule of law, institutional integrity and a culture of dialogue. However, in this new era, our greatest vulnerability may lie not in our geography but in our susceptibility to narratives engineered elsewhere.

Therefore, the false Daily Nation report and fabricated Mmegi article are warning signs. They revealed how easily our information space can be infiltrated and how quickly falsehood can masquerade as fact. The old scramble for Africa was about land and minerals. The new scramble is about attention, perception and belief.

Consequently, unless Botswana protects the integrity of its information ecosystem, we may discover too late that while our borders remain intact, our national consciousness has been quietly occupied.

*Thomas T. Nkhoma is MISA-Botswana chairperson

The false Daily Nation story about Botswana cutting electricity to South Africa and the counterfeit Mmegi article on Margaret Nasha are more than digital mischief. They are reminders that in the modern world, nations are no longer conquered only through armies and sanctions but through carefully engineered narratives designed to infiltrate public consciousness and bend sovereign states to foreign interests, writes THOMAS THOS NKHOMA*