Botswana ex-president Khama on trial after returning from 3-year exile News
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Botswana ex-president Khama on trial after returning from 3-year exile

Botswana’s former president Ian Khama appeared in a magistrate court in Gaborone on Friday and faced charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property after returning from three years in exile. This comes only one month before the general election in which his rival and former deputy President Mokgweetsi Masisi is seeking a final term.

According to the Khama Foundation, the former president had traveled to South Africa in 2021 for a visit and decided not to return at the end of his visit due to threats on his life. Until Friday, he has stayed both in South Africa and Swaziland. The charges he is faced with were leveled against him in his absence.

Before his appearance in court on Friday, the foundation released a press statement stating that Khama decided to return to Gaborone to present himself to the court concerning the charges and warrants and to handle them conclusively. Later, the court suspended two arrest warrants issued against him for failing to answer the charges. The two warrants were issued back on December 29, 2021, and July 12, 2023. He is set to appear in court on September 23. 

The former president also denied the charges, calling them politically backed. In 2019, Khama exited the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) founded by his father Seretse Khama, Botswana’s first president, after a fallout with now-President Masisi.

In the recent past, Khama has been seen to have aligned with the opposition alliance Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ahead of the October general election. Khama having served as a president from 2008 to 2018 can not run for office due to term limits.

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