18 May 2022

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has received kudos for its role in the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM).

The army was showered with  compliments by visiting legislators Mr Motsamai Motsamai and Mr Tumisang Healey of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)and Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) respectively as well as Real Alternative Party leader Mr Gaontebale Mokgosi.

The three were part of Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane’s delegation visiting Mozambique this week.

In an interview after visiting the soldiers based in the country’s Cabo Delgado region towns of Pemba and Mueda, Mr Motsamai, who is Ghanzi South MP,  said the trip was an eye opener given doubts about the existence of terrorists and extremists in the area.

He said deployment of SAMIM troops was needed to rescue the situation, saying more lives could have been lost if the military had not been deployed. 

Mr Motsamai noted that lives had been disrupted while  people lived in fear of terrorists.

He promised to support efforts to resource both the Mozambique mission and the Mozambican army.

Stressing the need for resourcing the BDF, he pledged a beast for the Botswana contingent. 

For his part, Gaborone Central MP, Mr Healey said the fact that communities were returning after fleeing their villages due to terrorism and violent extremism attacks proved that BDF’s presence had been impactful. 

Mr Healey, a member of the Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs,  Defence, Justice and Security, said  Batswana should reflect deeply on military expenditure.

He said though some were skeptical about military spending, equipment and support were crucial  to having a prepared army.

Commenting, Mr Mokgosi said the magnitude of terrorism in Mozambique was wild and tragic. 

“Terrorism as a concept must be shunned, we should not think it cannot happen to us,” he said adding that BDF participation was justifiable.

He said going forward, SADC should have a standing army to bring peace and stability to the region. 

The vice president’s delegation also included Palapye MP Mr Onneetse Ramogapi of UDC and BDP’s Mr John Thite representing Ghanzi North.

While in Mozambique, the delegation attended briefings by SAMIM head and SADC Regional Coordination Mechanism.

They also visited Botswana troops baseed in Pemba and Mueda. ends