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Vol 59 No 17

Published 31st August 2018


Botswana

The worm turns

The President's moves to reverse policies close to his predecessor's heart have triggered a backlash

After sidelining many party stalwarts and making a unilateral decision to anoint Mokgweetsi Masisi as the new President of Botswana, Ian Khama is now ruing his choice. The men have turned against each other, opening a rift that threatens to split the governing Botswana Democratic Party before next year's general election. So bitter is the acrimony that on 6 August the BDP postponed its primaries after Khama launched a crusade against party members and cabinet ministers aligned with Masisi. When the primaries finally took place on the weekend of 25/26 August, the two cabinet ministers targeted by Khama lost their primaries. Only MPs may serve as ministers.

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