Visions of our Capital
BONGI D D M RADIPATI* | Monday August 17, 2026 13:42
Because of this link between the place and its appeal, a close observer can’t help but discern a capital that is obviously teeming with the personal stories of those drawn to it. These would be the stories of their success or failure or the in-between of striving that are typically overlooked or that won’t all be recorded in the pages of any newspaper or book or any digital record of life as it is lived there.
Yet, to me, Gaborone, which for some decades was my home for higher education and professional reasons, is strangely not Botswana-enough and too much Botswana. In fact, in a country that appears to be attached to the transformative power of urban life, for better or worse, to me, Gaborone presents a counterfactual. I see it as being too diverse, less sociable, and too striving to be an example of a typical Botswana place where commonality is assumed, the myth of other-regarding-ness is still strong, and the pace of life is steady. Simultaneously, I reckon that, like other urbanizing centers elsewhere, Gaborone is a place where ambition, the culture of money-fixation, and relevance are internalized at the highest levels. But, as Botswana approaches its Diamond Jubilee on September 30, 2026, and notwithstanding anything else, can we start now to envision Gaborone as the country’s capital that is bold, imaginative, and provocative?
When in 1965, it was designated as the capital of a prospective Republic of Botswana, Gaborone was a greenfield chosen for its neutral location from some powerful tribes, a railway line that served literally as its iron backbone, and its proximity to fresh water. At that time, its population was just slightly over 3,000. Sixty years later, its population is about 250,000, constituting almost 10% of the country’s population. Additionally, roughly 20% of Botswana’s population of 2.6 million lives within a radius of 100km of it. Therefore, from its humble origins as a backwater capital to what it has since become, Gaborone has exceeded its own modest expectations. A river, the common yardstick by which cities are often deemed attractive, runs through it. Yet, its Notwane river is dry most of the time, and in any case, does not slice the city with the authority of London’s Thames river or Paris’s Seine river. Ironically, it may be the lack of an authoritative river that, combined with other considerations, has given Botswana’s capital its abundance of uniqueness. Consider that, at its core, Gaborone still retains its village character where urgency is rare to find, livestock easily roams into the limits of the city, and except for the trappings of modernity, a good number of its residents continue to pursue a semi-village lifestyle. Situated on a flat plane of land, without the undulating hills, and the distinctive differences of boroughs and neighborhoods of New York City, there is little that is immediately remarkable about its landscape, design or planning. But, because it is not them, Gaborone should not try to be like London or Paris or New York City. In fact, it should not try to be like any other city, including any in Africa, except perhaps its older counterpart, Canberra, Australia’s capital, and a city with a history and attitude that matches it. If Canberra accepted being mocked as a bush capital, Gaborone must be unashamed to be mocked as a savannah capital that incorporates its dryness, heat, dust, and thorns into its built environment and spaces of public convenience. If other capitals have their riviera because of their wetness, Gaborone ought to have its dry river urbanism proximate to its Notwane river even when its water is periodically gone. This could be done through landscaped corridors of indigenous flora, rocks, and artworks that reinforce the beauty of its (and the country’s) dryness. Where other capitals are limited by the cliché of what they ought to be, Gaborone must be an antidote to that by envisioning itself differently.
Being a capital that subsequently doubled as a city (See my essay, “Is this the City of Dreams?” in Mmegi of Friday, December 01, 2023), Gaborone cannot play by the rules of places that are not like it or rules for places that do not have its intended posture. Instead, it has to have sustained mischief as a place that is unapologetically itself. There is something reassuring when a place goes against the grain, and when what it becomes is rooted in its background and vision, not other people’s expectations. Where Botswana is famous for punching above its weight in regional and international affairs, then Gaborone has been the ringside for that fight. Yet, its landscape and design have easily yielded to spatial inhibition and thus confirmed its historical modesty. Except for its few buildings of grandeur such as the twin iTowers that define the skyline of the central business district (CBD) if not of the capital itself, or the dignity of the parliamentary precinct in the government enclave, or the pride of the national museum in the capital’s center, Gaborone has tended to prefer restraint to assertion. Yet, its public spaces must and sometimes do carry symbolic weight. That rich neighborhoods in Gaborone are often located across poorer ones is a commendable acknowledgment that despite differences in earnings and wealth, the capital belongs to all its residents equally. That its neighborhoods have their quaint malls is a thoughtful confirmation that wherever its residents are, convenience should as far as possible abide by them.
The visions of our capital ought to be dreams of wholesome living. Those visions are wishes for an infrastructure of the mind. This includes yearnings for more public libraries and more bookshops as cathedrals of thought; a literary city punctuated by book launches and festivals; and an irreverent building to serve as the home for, and an inspiration of, all performing arts. Those visions are also wishes for an infrastructure of the body: more pedestrian paths and cycling lanes to reclaim the city from the tyranny of the car; a lived-in CBD beyond the 5pm knock-off time; more public parks; more greenery; and the strict enforcement of rules of public tidiness, safety, and driving. Those visions must also be dreams for an infrastructure of joy through the establishment of a symphonic orchestra, more promotion and display of public art and cultural assets; the creation of open spaces for the enjoyment of ordinary life; and a commitment to urban beauty. The past 60 years of Gaborone have shown us that working with what we already have, coupled with caution, fortitude, and creativity, we can have a capital that means something to the whole of Botswana in purpose, design, and functionality. As I have said above, this capital symbolizes ambition and seduction. But it also signifies audacity and the setting of national standards. If the colossal bet of its visions as I have mentioned pays off, there is no doubt that Gaborone's gumption will represent the triumph of its own (and in turn the country’s) boldness, imagination and provocation.
Even with tightened public budgets, a rigorous planning system, and politics that are exemplary, Gaborone must have the nerve to be brash with its public space and the built environment. Public spaces influence public imagination. Nowhere do public spaces and the built environment cure income disparities or lessen unemployment. Nowhere do they make decent housing available or guarantee a good life. Yet, everywhere, public spaces and the built environment do subtle things. They reject the notion that life in a capital such as Gaborone should just be about eking a living. Instead, they confirm the ideal that living in a capital has intrinsic civic value and consequently life there ought to be made manageable. A capital that conducts itself and allows its public space and built environment to be hospitable to everyone is necessarily a place that routinely considers the cost and safety of living in it. It also continuously encourages decent forms of livelihoods to thrive in it. Finally, it is a capital whose residents and visitors envision their future and prosperity in it and thus reinforce its magnetism and charm. Beyond Botswana’s imminent sixtieth independence celebrations, Gaborone will begin a march to its centennial celebrations in 2065. The whole country must dare to envision it as this capital.
*Radipati is a Mmegi contributor