2019: The Year Two Elephants Fought :: Mmegi Online

The year 2019 will go down as one of the most dramatic in the country’s history. At the top of the drama, is the raging and unrelenting fight between former president Ian Khama and his handpicked successor, President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Sandwiched between the gigantic fight, has been the lifting of the hunting ban, the legalisation of same sex relations as well as the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change’s electoral challenge. The Monitor Writers, Mqondisi Dube, Kaelo Goitsemodimo, Pini Bothoko & Tsaone Basimanebotlhe review the ‘crazy year’

Masisi, Khama feud

Botswana’s peace and tranquility was pierced when former president, Ian Khama and successor Mokgweetsi Masisi, turned foes. The feud spilled over from 2018, and there is no sign of it slowing down, as the raging fight heads to 2020. The genesis of the fight is still a subject of debate, but appears to hinge on ‘broken power promises’. The fallout resulted in Khama being instrumental in the formation of the breakaway Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), and becomes the first former president to be a member of the opposition.

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