Background

Following the October 2024 elections, the Umbrella for Democratic Change party formed its government with Duma Boko as president, ending decades of one-party rule under the Botswana Democratic Party.

Authorities relocated asylum seekers, whose applications had been refused, from a detention facility in the city of Francistown to Dukwi refugee camp, where access to work and services was limited.

Economic and social rights

In August, President Boko declared a national public health emergency after the medical supply chain collapsed, leaving public hospitals and clinics with severe shortages of essential drugs, including for cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, and sexual, reproductive and mental health conditions. The crisis followed months of significant arrears in the government’s unpaid bills to private suppliers, and broader fiscal pressure linked to a downturn in the diamond sector. Non-urgent surgeries were postponed, and the government announced BWP 250 million (around USD 18 million) emergency funding for procurement, deploying the military to support distribution, although the shortages continued.

Freedom of expression

In August, parliament enacted the Digital Services Act 2025 and the Cybersecurity Act 2025. Both laws centralized executive control over the digital sector without providing provisions to ensure robust and independent safeguards to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression.

Botswana was ranked 81st out of 180 countries surveyed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index. RSF said that, while there were fewer cases of serious abuses against journalists, many obstacles hindered their work.

Freedom of peaceful assembly

On 8 August the police refused to allow a march by organizations affiliated with the Student Power Botswana movement to proceed in the capital, Gaborone. The students wanted to deliver a petition to the Ministry of Higher Education, demanding an increase in their monthly allowances in line with rising living costs. Police claimed the march would clash with another event. A week later, another attempt to deliver the petition was arbitrarily blocked.

Gender-based violence

UN agencies described the high incidence of gender-based violence as a national emergency. Meanwhile, authorities failed to ensure effective protection for women and girls, including the absence of legislation which criminalized marital rape.

Death penalty

Botswana retained the death penalty. For the fourth consecutive year, there were no executions although several men remained on death row. Local NGOs called publicly for an official moratorium on executions with a view to total abolition.