The right to food: Botswana’s unfulfilled promise
Friday, January 23, 2026 | 80 Views |
Basic needs: Quality nutrition is a perennial challenge throughout Africa PEOPLESIMAGES.COM
With food prices soaring and unemployment rampant, Olerato Montsho’s story is a stark reminder of Botswana's crippling food insecurity crisis."I'm forced to buy whatever is cheapest," says Montsho* her eyes welling up with tears. "My son is always sick, and I know it is because he is not eating right."
Montsho's plight is a familiar one in Botswana, where 49.4% of the population faces moderate to severe food insecurity. The country's reliance on imports and lack of investment in local agriculture has worsened the problem over the years.
Batswana who marched peacefully for 'Justice for Tshepi' demanded answers. They have now received a detailed account of police investigation and a promise that the file is with the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The real test is whether the state now keeps its word without further prodding. In his address, the minister asked the nation to trust the process. He spoke of rigour, not neglect, and pointed to 10 months of...