Wrestling Botswana back from Khama: A review

Wrestling Botswana Back From Khama is the first book of its kind in Botswana’s publishing history. Released not long before last month’s election, it makes an extended case for voters to reject Ian Khama at the polls. Beyond that, it is an eloquent plea for Batswana citizens to ensure that the damage former president Khama and his administration wrought to the country’s democratic heritage be undone.

Ditsheko’s dual roles in his life — being both a journalist and a Zionist Bishop by profession — shape the manuscript in significant ways. The book makes full use of typical journalistic reportage, and is loaded with interviews, eyewitness testimony, and wide reading. At the same time, the voice of a Moruti is always there. Although neither the Botswana Constitution nor its democratic framework could be regarded as divinely inspired, nevertheless Ditsheko views and defends them with the same passion as he would the Gospels.