The Discourse of Tribalism in Botswana’s 2019 General Elections

Bibliographic Data

ID11788166
AuthorsChristian John Makgala (0000-0001-5984-5153, corresponding author), Andy Chebanne (0000-0001-5393-1771), Boga Thura Manatsha (0000-0001-5573-7796), Leonard Lenna Sesa
Year2020
VolumeSP36
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAlternation Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1023-1757 • E-ISSN: 2519-5476
PublisherUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal (PUBLISHER • ZA)
DOI10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp36a10
OpenAlexW3153039199
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited16

Botswana's much touted peaceful Presidential succession experienced uncertainty after the transition on 1 April 2019 as a result of former President Ian Khama's public fallout with his 'handpicked' successor, President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama spearheaded a robust campaign to dislodge Masisi and the long-time ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. He actively assisted in the formation of a new political party, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). Khama also mobilised the country's most populous Central District, the Bangwato tribal territory, of which he is kgosi (paramount chief), for the hotly contested 2019 general elections. Two perspectives emerged on Khama's approach, which was labelled loosely as 'tribalism'. One school of thought was that the Westernised and bi-racial Khama was not socialised sufficiently into Tswana culture and tribal life to be a tribalist. Therefore, he was said to be using cunningly a colonial-style strategy of divideand-rule to achieve his agenda. The second school of thought opined that Khama was a 'shameless tribalist' hell-bent on stoking 'tribalism' among the 'Bangwato' in order to bring Masisi's government to its knees. This article

Development economics · Economics · General election · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Tribalism · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Law

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