The Indigenous World 2025: Botswana

Written on 25 April 2025. Posted in Botswana

Botswana is a country of 2,450,668 inhabitants, having celebrated its 58^th year of independence in 2024. Its government does not recognize any specific ethnic groups as Indigenous, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are Indigenous. However, 3.34% of the population identifies as belonging to an Indigenous group.

These include: the San (known in Botswana as the Basarwa) who number around 75,794; the Balala (2,741); and the Nama (3,369), a Khoekhoe-speaking people. The San traditionally were hunter-gatherers but today the vast majority are small-scale agro-pastoralists, cattle post workers, or people with mixed economies. Only an estimated 300 San people are full-time hunter-gatherers although many others hunt or gather as a supplement to other food sources. The San consist of a large number of sub-groups, most with their own languages, including the Ju/’hoansi, Bugakhwe, Khwe-ǁAni, Ts'ixa, ǂX'ao-ǁ'aen,!Xóõ, ǂHoan, ‡Khomani, Naro, G/ui, G//ana, Tsasi, Deti, Bakhwe, Shua, Tshwa, Cuaa, Kua, Danisi and /Xaise. The San, Balala, and Nama are among the most underprivileged people in Botswana, with a high percentage living below the poverty line.

Botswana is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and it voted in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). However, it has not signed the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 (ILO 169). There are no specific laws on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the country, and the concept of Indigenous people is not included in the Botswana Constitution. Botswana’s census does not include information on ethnicity. Botswana took part in the 23^rd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held in New York from 15-26 April 2024.

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here

Presidential election

In the 12^th presidential election since the founding of Botswana as an independent nation-state in September 1966, Duma Gideon Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) was elected on 30 October 2024, replacing Mokgweetsi Masisi of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). The Botswana Democratic Party had been in power for 58 years. Duma Gideon Boko, a human rights lawyer and Harvard Law School graduate, was involved in the Central Kalahari court case of 2004-2006 and has been an advisor to various San organizations for many years.

Burial of renowned San activist

The burial of Pitseng Gaoberekwe in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) continued to be a major issue in 2024.^[1] When Mr. Gaoberekwe, a G//ana San activist from Metsiamonong, died on 21 December 2021 at New Xade, outside the CKGR, the government refused to allow his body to be buried on the Reserve despite both local and international pressure. Instead, his body was kept in a mortuary in Ghanzi for nearly three years, at substantial expense, approximately 1.2 million Pula, or US$85,635.00.^[2] When Duma Gideon Boko was elected in October, he decreed that Mr. Gaoberekwe would be allowed to be buried in his home village. The burial took place on 10 December 2024, with President Boko and hundreds of dignitaries and community members present.

There were several reasons for the government's unwillingness to allow Pitseng to be buried at his home village until December 2024. First, the Botswana government did not want to create a precedent. Second, the government wanted to prevent Pitseng's burial location from becoming a rallying point for San activists and their supporters. Third, the government did not want to honor an activist involved in the San/Bakgalagadi resistance to the government’s relocation efforts. Finally, the government did not want to accede to San requests for burial inside the CKGR because they felt it would allow the San to claim a victory. The San activists, including Smith Moeti and members of the Gaoberekwe family, felt that having Pitseng's body returned to the CKGR would be honoring San burial traditions as well as the wishes of Mr. Gaoberekwe.

Hunting issues

Another issue that has been covered in previous issues of The Indigenous World relates to hunting rights. San currently have no subsistence hunting rights, although some community trusts are able to hunt a limited number of animals in cooperation with joint venture partners, usually safari hunting companies. The hunting season in Botswana for 2024-2025 will last from 2 April 2024-31 January 2025. As part of the hunting quota, 400 elephant hunting licenses were issued by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, only a small portion of which were granted to San communities. There were an estimated 130,000 elephants in Botswana in 2024 according to Elephants Without Borders,^[3] and some of them were causing difficulties for people in western Ngamiland, Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta, and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Complaints were heard from NGOs such as the Elephant Protection Society about the decision on elephant hunting licenses, which they felt were excessive and problematic.

Poaching was reportedly on the increase in Botswana in 2024, according to the United Nations Development Programme, Elephants Without Borders, and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Arrests for hunting violations took place, with at least some of those arrests being made in San communities with little evidence of guilt on the part of those arrested.^[4]

Oil and gas exploration

Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (ReconAfrica) Botswana, a Canadian oil and gas company, obtained a new license for oil and gas exploration in north-western Botswana on 1 October 2024. Active drilling had not started by the end of 2024, although company officials were still telling people in the area that they would have to move. The people of Tsodilo complained bitterly about these visits, which they said were aimed at intimidating the residents.

San residents in small communities are called squatters

San people living in small communities have recently been designated by local officials as “squatters”, without government services, land rights, or even the right to bury their dead in their own cemeteries. Botswana’s land management policy does not allow communities with populations under 500 to be legitimized as villages (“gazetted”)^[5] and provided with services such as education, health clinics, water or transportation. Communities must also be gazetted in order to bury their dead in their cemeteries. In earlier years, this rule was applied less consistently, and many communities under 500 did receive services and burial rights but now the smaller communities are being denied these benefits and are being asked to relocate to larger villages and towns. This is especially true of the hamlets in the Boteti region near the Orapa diamond mines or on the vast cattle ranch land nearby.

In a letter to the Boteti District Commissioner, Keikabile Mogodu of the Botswana Khwedom Council (BKC) wrote of the San in the Boteti area: “They are told that they are squatters. They have been relocated from the farms and their ancestral land to give way to mining and cattle ranches and brought where they are.” Mogodu gave the example of the San in Tsutsuga, who settled in the area before independence in 1966 – over 50 years ago.^[6] The hamlet is often referred to as a “cattle post”, but sometimes as a “quaint village”.

In the spring before Botswana buried Pitseng Gaoberekwe in his ancestral community in the CKGR, a Tsutsuga family started digging a grave in their cemetery for a loved one who had recently died. Someone reported this to the Letlhakane sub-land board, which warned the family that the burial would be illegal, and that they had to take the body to Letlhakane. The family responded that they could not afford to transport the body and refused to do so. The case was referred to the Ngwato land board in Serowe, which went to court to prevent the burial, arguing that it violated “the regulatory framework established to ensure proper burial practices and public health standards”. In May 2024, the Francistown High Court ruled in favor of the land board, arguing that a decision in favor of the family “…would set a precedent of laissez-faire regarding burial sites in non-designated areas”.^[7]

Several months later, in July, the Honorable Sethomo Lelatisitswe, the Member of Parliament for the district, visited Tsutsuga and addressed the Tsutsuga residents to persuade them to relocate to one of two gazetted towns nearby, Mosu or Letlhakane. He brought with him the dikgosi (traditional headpersons, plural) for the two towns.^[8]

The Kgosi (traditional headperson, singular) of Mosu village, Philip Kopano “…pleaded with the Tsutsuga residents to embrace change” and relocate either to his village or to Letlhakane. Several residents were skeptical. One of them, Mr. Rebuiseng Thakanyamolemo, said he believed Basarwa (San) were generally discriminated against and denied the right to land. Other residents asked if they would be allocated land if they agreed to relocate. Mr. Lelatisitswe, the MP, replied that “every Motswana had the right to apply for land irrespective of their tribes”. Mr. Barontshe Kegapetswe, the Kgosi of Letlhakane, agreed that they could apply for land, but only after they had relocated.

Another resident, Mr. Monkgogi Bareemetse, asked about the prohibition on burials in the Tsutsuga cemetery. Kgosi Kegapetswe replied that: “There were some cattle posts years back where burials were permitted” but that they were now prohibited. He added that chiefs do not usually address kgotla meetings in cattle posts.

Regarding the suggestion that San should relocate to Letlhakane, it should be noted that, in 2023, the Boteti council chairperson said that the “mushrooming” of squatters in Letlhakane had become worrisome.^[9] As the town closest to the Orapa mines, it has experienced considerable growth in recent years, and has become a center of crime, drug use and violence, especially against women.^[10]

Another San hamlet in the area, Malelejwe, has petitioned the government for years to be upgraded to a gazetted village. Even though it has only 168 residents, it has a Settlement Development Committee, whose chairman said that: “Children walk miles to the nearest school, while the sick often go untreated due to the absence of a local clinic.” Children of Malelejwe are sent to a boarding school in Mmea Village but they end up returning home because they are too young to be separated from their parents.^[11] However, Malelejwe’s residents expect to be pressured to relocate before long.

In spite of the government’s refusal to legitimize Malelejwe, it has enforced strict requirements regarding where they are allowed to vote in the October presidential election. The government designates certain “polling stations” and there are penalties for voting in the wrong one. As of July, Malelejwe residents learned that they were required to vote in Dukwi Ward, although they had previously voted in the much-closer Sowa Town. Neither Melelejwe residents nor Sowa officials were consulted about the change. Sowa Town Councilor John Ntebalang said: “Most of them had already registered to vote in Sowa Town.” After both parties – UDC and BCP - had lodged complaints about them, 100 San of Malelejwe were “dragged into court after their names were found in the Sowa Town voters roll”. As of July, the cases were before the Nata Magistrates court.^[12]

Issues of voting rights were raised by at least a dozen San communities in Central (Ngwato) district in 2024.

Botswana’s land-use policy

Botswana’s current land-use plan was an issue of concern to the Indigenous people of Botswana in 2024. Among other problems, the district councils and land boards often allocate land to individuals and groups whom they favor instead of adhering to requirements for fair allocation. Concerns about the fairness of land boards’ decisions were raised by the UN Development Program in its social safeguards work in Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, and North West District and by members of 15 communities in western Botswana who were surveyed in 2024. Recent analyses of inadequate policies toward Remote Area Dwellers (RADs) in Botswana revealed some of the problems with the government’s approaches to people in remote rural areas.^[13]

Children and youth

The San Youth Network (SYNet) and the Red Cross Society, as well as UNICEF, were actively promoting youth in Botswana. According to UNICEF, 63% of Botswana’s children were experiencing multidimensional poverty in 2024.^[14] San and other children in remote areas were dealing with high rates of malnutrition according to UNICEF and the San Youth Network (SYNet). Hunger was a major issue for children living on cattle posts and ranches. Botswana has administered the Vulnerable Groups Feeding Program for decades but the health and nutrition of children in remote areas where many San live continues to decline. The National Social Protection Framework (NSPF) was approved in 2020 but, as of 2024, it had not been fully implemented. However, according to UNICEF, the Botswana Red Cross Society, and the World Bank there were gaps in the coverage and overall design of NSPF.

Public health challenges continued to affect children as well as adults in Botswana. COVID-19, tuberculosis, Mpox, and HIV/AIDS all persisted in Botswana in 2024. A major challenge facing San women and youth was intrafamily violence, which saw women and youth having to visit health posts because of their injuries.^[15] The drivers of this violence are being explored by a research group in Botswana using encounter groups of men and women of all ages in order to understand people’s views of the causes of the violence and how it can be prevented.^[16]

Other issues

Drought was declared by President Masisi on 1 March 2024. The drought was estimated to be the worst in a century. Drought relief programs were focused in part on people defined as destitute under Botswana government policy.

Fires continued to be an issue in various parts of Botswana, including in the Okavango Delta. Some of these fires had the effect of reducing grazing for wild animals and cattle, as seen, for example, in the Boteti region of Central District. Several people were arrested for setting fires, most of whom were San.

Destruction of cultural heritage sites in the Okwa Valley was reported by local San community members in southern Ghanzi District, and by Cheetah Conservation Botswana and the Kalahari Wildlands Trust. Some of the destruction was caused by tourists.

In spite of the many problems they struggled to overcome, by the end of the year the Indigenous people of Botswana had high hopes for improvement in their human rights situations in the coming year.

Robert K. Hitchcock is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Judith Frost is a freelance consultant who has done extensive work on San issues in Southern Africa. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Maria Sapignoli is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Milan in Italy. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Melinda Kelly is a member of the Kalahari Peoples Fund. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here                                      

Notes and references

^[1] Badair, Francois. “The end of an Injustice for the Bushmen of the Central Kalahari.” Paris 2024. (The case was also covered in previous issues of The Indigenous World.)

^[2] Basimanebotjhe, Tsaone. “Gov’t to Pay P1.2 Million for the Two Year Mortuary Bill.” Mmegi On-line, 6 December 2024.

^[3] Schlossberg, Scott and Michael Chase. “Population trends and conservation status of elephants in Botswana and the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area: A review of elephant aerial surveys, 2010 – 2022.” April 2024. Kasane, Botswana: Elephants Without Borders.

^[4] UNDP Social Safeguards Report 2024.

^[5] “Settlement policy aims for balanced service provision.” The Daily News, 8 August 2024.

^[6] “Basarwa demand equal land rights.” Gazette Reporter, 17 January 2024.

^[7] “Ngwato Land Board Prevails in Burial Dispute.” Botswana Gazette, 15 May 2024.

^[8] “Tsutsuga squatters to identify place for relocation.” The Daily News. 8 July 2024.

^[9] “Mushrooming of squatters worries Boteti chair.” Mmegi, 29 August 2023. (cited in The Indigenous World 2024)

^[10] “Letlhakane: a village gripped by atrocities.” Mmegi, 24 May 2024.

^[11] Lucas, Lame. “168 residents of Malelejwe want their settlement upgraded to a village.” The Midweek Sun, 10 July 2024.

^[12] Rantsimako, Sesapo. “Basarwa of Malelejwe threaten to boycott elections over delimitation.” Botswana Gazette, 18 July 2024.

^[13]Moeti, Onthatile Olerile. “The Impact of the Modern Development Agenda on the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Botswana: The Case of the San.” PhD thesis. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2024; Mushumba, Lesedi. “Exploring the land dispossession and criminalisation of the Basarwa peoples’ livelihoods in Botswana: A narrative through the lens of the Basarwa peoples.” The Extractive Industries and Society 20, 101582024.                                     

^[14] UNICEF Botswana Annual Report. Gabarone, UNICEF; Transparency International and Freedom House annual reports, 2024.

^[15] Diraditsile, Kabo. “Meaningful Engagement and Participation of Youth in Health Programmes in Botswana: Challenges and Prospects.” Botswana Notes and Records 55:39-49, 2024.

^[16] Sarmiento, Iván, et al. “Community perceptions of causes of violence against young women in Botswana: fuzzy cognitive mapping.” Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 19(1):1-57, 2024

Tags: Land rights, Youth, Business and Human Rights , Human rights