Masisi, who was in power for 2, 034 days, was sworn in as the fifth president of Botswana on April Fool’s Day 2018. Riding on an anti-Khama wave, he won the elections in 2019 with a landslide. While many people thought the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), which brought most of the opposition parties together at the time and was arguably at its strongest during that election cycle, was going to sweep the stakes, Masisi held his own and defeated them.
Apparently, buoyed by that resounding victory, Masisi adopted a rather flambouyant and populist posture, hanging out with celebrities and billionaires, as well as pronouncing roadside promises, which were not feasible given the country’s fiscal constraints. He also mistook the goodwill generated by the public’s anti-Khama sentiment at the time which he benefited from, for public affection for him. From the word go, Masisi engaged in endless foreign trips, accompanied by elaborate entourages costing the nation a fortune. But he also made unpopular decisions, like acquiring rights to the government owned Banyana farm for his personal use; acquisition of a hotel (Tautona Lodge) and farm in Gantsi on behalf of the state at a super-inflated price; purchase of bulls from the United States at an exorbitant cost to the fiscus. Bulls which up to now have not benefited the ordinary Motswana.
