Ian Khama alleges Zimbabwe-linked assassination plot amid regional political feud

Former Botswana President Ian Khama says two independent sources warned him of an assassination plot tied to Zimbabwe’s government and President Emmerson Mnangagwa after Khama criticised Zimbabwe’s constitutional amendment and the leader’s authoritarian tendencies. Khama told the Masvingo Mirror that a senior Zimbabwean intelligence official visited Botswana, met with Botswana counterparts, and that similar threats have forced him to flee to South Africa in the past. He said, “I was contacted by two sources with information that there is a plot by the Government of Mnangagwa to kill me.”

In response, ZANU PF Youth League deputy political commissar Taurai Kandishaya accused Khama of trying to privatise Botswana, claiming the former president wants to keep political power within his family, owns vast land holdings, and should stay out of Botswana’s elected governance. Kandishaya said, “The problem of Botswana is not the economy … it is Seretse Ian Khama,” urging Batswana to reject Khama’s influence.