On Wednesday, the hashtag campaign was joined by an online petition, which exploded overnight with nearly 1,300 people signing on. The petition says by July 31, “the people of Botswana demand that government” give a full account of COVID-19 spending, give details of the strategy, provide evidence of all discussions with vaccine producers, report on all donations given and several other demands.
Leading both the hashtag campaign and the online petition are Batswana in an age group that has been waiting for months while the 55-year-olds and above were being vaccinated. With deaths spiralling, young Batswana have taken it upon themselves to demand that government account and commit.