Tshepiso Seth Ndzinge-Makhamisa (PhD)
Democracy is often described as a Greek invention which was refined over centuries in Western Europe and, in many respects, inherited by African states. I contend that such inheritance was forced, but that is a topic for another time. What is less contested, however, is that young African democracies, including Botswana, continue to grapple with what democracy means in practice and how it aligns with indigenous traditions of governance and participation, and how it adapts within an increasingly complex global order.
As the saying goes, we are building a plane while it is already in the air.
Recent public transport fare increases that were as high as 86% for some modes of travel sparked widespread public outcry in Botswana. These increases followed global fuel price hikes and supply disruptions, themselves driven by geopolitical developments beyond Botswana’s control. The current administration has thus been confronted with difficult, and often unenviable, decisions in an already constrained economic environment.
That context matters. Botswana’s long-standing reliance on a finite resource base, coupled with historical under-diversification, mass corruption and elongated episodes of mismanagement, has left the country vulnerable to external shocks. The global fuel crisis, linked to conflict in the Middle East and broader supply chain disruptions, has only compounded these challenges.
Sadly, this context does not erase lived reality. For many Batswana, the cumulative effect of rising electricity tariffs, water costs, fuel prices, and now transport fares has placed significant strain on already stretched household incomes. It is within this context that the youth who are often referred to as the “Ma 2k” generation took to the streets to protest. Their grievance was not whimsical or irrational. It was immediate, practical, and deeply felt: access to education, mobility, and basic livelihood.
They exercised what is commonly understood as the right to protest. From a legal perspective, the right to protest is not always framed as a standalone right in international law or under Botswana’s Constitution. Rather, it emerges from the intersection of several protected freedoms: expression, association, and peaceful assembly. In essence, it is the right of individuals to gather publicly and express their views peacefully on matters of that concern them.
It is my contention that this right is not only necessary, but indispensable. It must not be unduly restricted. Peaceful protest is, in many respects, the oil that greases the engine of a functioning democracy.
Botswana’s history with protest has, at times, been uneasy. Past approaches of previous regimes was marked by permit denials, heavy-handed (often violent) responses, and rhetoric discouraging public demonstration. These responses suggested a discomfort with protest as a legitimate democratic tool. The implicit message was often that protest was not “how we do things.”
That position is difficult to sustain in a modern constitutional democracy.
Democracy demands engagement. At times, it demands dissent. As his Excellency President Duma Gideon Boko has aptly observed, democracy requires an “engaged and, at times, enraged citizenry.” Government decisions must be debated, interrogated, and, where necessary, challenged through organised and peaceful protest.
This, I argue, is not foreign to our traditions. The kgotla system has long embodied participatory governance in which a Kgosi addresses the community, invites open discussion, and listens to the will of the people. In this sense, peaceful protest can be understood as a contemporary extension of that tradition: a public articulation of collective concern.
The recent demonstrations by young people, particularly tertiary students, were precisely that, an attempt to be heard.
It is therefore notable that the current administration did not resort to violence, nor did it retreat behind rigid procedural barriers such as permit technicalities and advance notices. Instead, it listened and responded. This approach reflects an important and commendable shift in how the state engages with public dissent.
However, caution is warranted. There will be moments when the government cannot, or will not, reverse course. The economic and structural challenges facing Botswana are real, and policy responses will not always align with public expectation. We are, as noted earlier, navigating uncertain and often turbulent conditions.
It is precisely within such moments that democratic values are tested. Peaceful protest will remain an uncomfortable but necessary feature of democratic life. It is through this discomfort, through engagement, disagreement, and participation that democratic norms are not only expressed, but forged.
