LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-One man, who no longer holds office, has managed to do what years of border cooperation could not: put Zambia and Botswana on a diplomatic collision course.
Former Botswana President Ian Khama has dragged his country into a diplomatic war with Zambia after calling President Hakainde Hichilema “Africa’s newest dictator” and accusing his government of holding political detainees.
The row, which began as a question in Botswana’s House of Chiefs, has now reached the Botswana High Commission in Lusaka, where Zambians have formally petitioned Gaborone to rebuke Khama, force him to apologise, and stop what they see as interference in Zambia’s internal affairs.
Khama is refusing to back down.
The petition in Lusaka
On Wednesday, Nominated Member of Parliament Judith Kabemba Nkonge led a delegation to deliver the petition at the Botswana High Commission in Lusaka.
Addressing members of the press after submitting the petition, Kabemba said Zambians were deeply offended and wanted the Government of Botswana to call Khama to order.
“The people of Zambia have written to the Botswana embassy that through the embassy Mr Ian Khama must be called, he must be sat down and he must be rebuked for what he said. He needs counsel,” she said.
Zambians are asking, through the embassy, that Botswana ask Khama to apologise to the people of Zambia and to apologise to the President of Zambia.
Kabemba said the House of Chiefs in Botswana should lead in the process because the remarks were made there.
“It was not a private meeting, it was not at a private gathering. It was in the House of Chiefs,” she said.
“We hope and believe that this matter will receive the urgency that it deserves because Zambia and Botswana have enjoyed a long standing good relationship. Very good relationship,” she said.
What Khama actually said
The controversy began in Botswana’s Ntlo ya Dikgosi, the House of Chiefs, where Khama sits as a traditional leader.
During a session in Gaborone, Khama asked Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, Dr Phenyo Butale, whether the government regretted sending a representative to Hichilema’s inauguration.
In framing the question, he asked:
“With the stated position of Botswana as upholding the rule of law, democracy and human rights, with hindsight, does the minister regret that we attended the inauguration of Africa’s newest dictator in Zambia, after they have violated all these principles that we uphold?”
Butale defended Botswana’s attendance.
Khama did not stop there. In later media interviews, he repeated the description of Hichilema as a dictator. He accused the Zambian Government of manipulating elections, persecuting opposition politicians, fabricating charges, kidnapping and torturing political activists.
His comments came after Zambia’s general election on 13 August, in which Hichilema won a second term, and after several opposition figures were arrested and prosecuted.
Zambia’s response: No detainees, only lawbreakers
Kabemba dismissed the claim that Zambia has political detainees as far-fetched.
“Who is a political detainee in Zambia? Nobody. The only people we have who are going through the process of the law are those who broke the laws of this country during the elections,” she said.
“Every country has got laws. Zambia has got laws. Botswana has got laws. When you break the law of the land you will go through the due process of the law,” Kabemba said.
She said Khama himself, during his time as President from 2008 to 2018, never allowed people to break the law and go scot-free.
“There are institutions of government which notice, in this case we have the police. When they notice that somebody has broken the law that person will be arrested and they will go through the due process of the law,” she said.
Kabemba said if Khama was genuine, he would have come to Zambia and inquired about what is happening, instead of making allegations in the House of Chiefs.
“I think it is quite very unfortunate,” she said.
She said Zambians will not allow anybody from outside the country to insult the President.
“We will not allow anybody to insult and disrespect our president especially when you bring allegations that are not true, allegations that have no evidence,” she said.
“We also have a country to protect, we only have Zambia and the Zambians are saying no interference in our country. We are well able to handle our issues.”
Botswana caught in the middle
This is the diplomatic problem for Gaborone: Khama is not the government, but he speaks from inside a state institution, and his words are being read in Lusaka as Botswana speaking.
Butale has said Khama’s description of Hichilema does not represent Botswana’s official position. He said Botswana enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with Zambia, hence it attended Hichilema’s inauguration on 1 September.
“The views expressed by an individual, irrespective of their previous position in public office, should not be taken as representative of the policy or position of the sitting Government,” Butale said.
He also warned that Khama’s remarks could affect Botswana’s diplomatic credibility and complicate bilateral engagement.
Khama, however, says he has received no call from the minister asking him to stop. He told The Botswana Gazette: “Why should I apologise for stating facts? Absolutely, I will not apologise.”
He said he has also received messages from Zambians thanking him for what he said.
Why this matters beyond words
Zambia and Botswana are not distant neighbours. They share a border at Kazungula, where they jointly built the Kazungula Bridge across the Zambezi River. They held their inaugural Bi-National Commission in 2025 and launched the Kazungula Bridge Authority this year. President Duma Boko of Botswana attended Hichilema’s inauguration in Lusaka.
That is why the petition matters. It is not just about Khama’s language. It is about whether a former head of state can use a parliamentary chamber to attack a sitting president of a neighbouring country, and whether the government of that country will be held responsible for not stopping him.
For now, Lusaka is demanding an apology and a rebuke. Gaborone is insisting Khama speaks for himself. Khama is insisting he speaks the truth.
Until one side moves, Botswana remains dragged into a diplomatic war saying did not start — and Zambia remains convinced the insult cannot be left unanswered.
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