Conservationist Khama, gov’t lock horns
Spira Tlhankane | Friday October 2, 2026 11:09
The latest clash pits Khama’s long-standing conservationist philosophy against government’s increasingly pronounced argument that wildlife can be sustainably utilised to benefit communities. In a strongly worded letter dated September 29, Environment and Tourism Minister, Wynter Mmolotsi told Khama that while he is free to give cattle to his tribe, he had no authority to interfere with government’s decision to offer elephants to people of Serowe District. “Kindly note that Kgosi Khama does not have the authority to reverse or alter any decision made by the government,” Mmolotsi wrote. “Accordingly, while he is at liberty to give cattle to his tribe, he has no authority to alter, reverse, or otherwise interfere with the offer made by the government to the people of Serowe District.” The minister further made it clear that the elephant offer remained on the table, declaring: “We further wish to confirm that the offer of elephants made by the Ministry remains valid and stands as communicated.”
The sharp exchange follows government’s decision to issue complimentary hunting licences for 23 elephants across eight districts as part of Botswana’s 60th Independence celebrations. Khama has opposed the initiative, reportedly arguing that using wildlife as part of national celebrations risks changing how Batswana perceive the country’s natural heritage. “It can contribute to the opinion that wildlife is increasingly being used for consumption through normalising and encouraging hunting instead of protecting a natural resource that promotes tourism which brings many benefits,” Khama previously told the media.
He has also warned that the decision could establish a precedent for future national celebrations. It is said that Khama’s fear is that the government’s jubilee gesture sets a precedent and expectations for future anniversaries and national events to be provided the same. Khama’s objection is consistent with a conservation position he has maintained for years. During his presidency, Botswana introduced a hunting ban effective January 2014 after government said scientific information indicated that several wildlife species were declining. The ban became one of the defining features of Khama’s conservation record before it was lifted in 2019 under his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi. Hunting has subsequently continued under President Duma Boko’s administration. However, Khama has remained an outspoken critic of the reversal. In 2019, during an international debate over the lifting of the hunting ban, he argued against using killing as a response to human-wildlife conflict. His conservation credentials have also remained central to his public interventions on wildlife.
Khama described wildlife conservation as one of the defining responsibilities of his public life and argued that Botswana has a duty to preserve its wildlife for future generations. But the former president’s position increasingly finds itself at odds with the government’s sustainable-utilisation argument. Mmolotsi has repeatedly defended regulated hunting as a management tool, arguing that Botswana’s wildlife policy must balance conservation with the interests of communities living alongside animals. The government’s position is particularly focused on human-wildlife conflict. In the letter to Khama, the minister stated that the elephants allocated for the celebrations are “problem animals” roaming around areas inhabited by people. “The elephants in question are problem animals that are roaming in areas inhabited by people and causing damage to crops, farm installations which includes boreholes and fences. In some instances, these animals cause injury and death to our fellow citizenry,” the Mmolotsi wrote. That argument has featured prominently in the government’s defence of hunting more broadly.
When Khama recently questioned the country’s increasing hunting quotas at Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Mmolotsi maintained that quota-setting is based on multiple datasets. These include wildlife population estimates, distribution, harvest rates, poaching, problem-animal-control hotspots, retaliatory killings, natural mortalities and socioe-conomic factors. The minister said Botswana’s elephant population continues to grow in both numbers and range despite mounting pressures. He also revealed that hunting quotas generated P67.2 million for communities in 2025, compared with P42.8 million in 2024, arguing that wildlife resources can provide tangible economic benefits to rural communities. Mmolotsi further defended the sustainability of elephant hunting by saying actual annual elephant offtake stood at 0.18%, against a quota ceiling of 0.3%.
The government’s argument, therefore, is that conservation and utilisation are not mutually exclusive. Khama, however, has continued to question whether the financial benefits of hunting adequately compensate communities for the loss of wildlife and whether Botswana risks sacrificing valuable wildlife assets for short-term economic gains. He has particularly questioned the targeting of mature elephant bulls, which he argues are important to photographic tourism, and has demanded evidence that hunting revenues actually reach households in wildlife areas. The two positions collided again over the controversial NG13 hunting concession, where Khama questioned the transparency of the process and the vetting of hunting operators.
Mmolotsi defended the community-based model but acknowledged that government needed to strengthen due diligence and background checks on hunting operators. “Going forward, the ministry will work with relevant authorities to introduce enhanced forensic and background vetting of hunting operators before they participate in community hunting quota bidding processes,” Mmolotsi told a Ntlo Ya Dikgosi sitting a few months ago. Therefore latest elephant dispute therefore goes beyond the Diamond Jubilee feast and at its heart is a fundamental disagreement over what Botswana’s wildlife represents and how it should be managed.
For Khama, the symbolism of killing elephants for a national celebration appears to be particularly troubling. For government, however, the elephants are also part of a wider human-wildlife conflict equation, with communities bearing the cost of living alongside a rapidly expanding elephant population. And with Khama now challenging the elephant allocation from the position of both a traditional leader and one of Botswana’s most prominent conservation voices, the Diamond Jubilee has unexpectedly opened another chapter in the country’s long-running wildlife war.