14/01/2026
SAN YOUTH NETWORK STATEMENT ON POLITICAL RACISM AND THE PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS DIGNITY.
The San Youth Network expresses profound concern and outrage over a recently circulated campaign video in which a political actor employs racialised language, personal ridicule, and harmful stereotypes in an apparent attempt to gain political advantage. The content of the video, which includes derogatory references to Indigenous Peoples of Botswana and disparaging remarks about Honourable Motsamai Motsamai, represents a troubling escalation of intolerance in our political space.
For Indigenous youth and communities, such rhetoric is not abstract or harmless. It echoes a long history of exclusion, misrepresentation, and discrimination that continues to shape unequal access, services, and political participation. When a political figure openly resorts to racial contempt, it reinforces systems of marginalisation and undermines national commitments to equality and social justice.
Botswana’s Constitution guarantees the right to dignity and freedom from discrimination. These rights are not conditional upon ethnicity, body type, or political affiliation. Campaigning that relies on humiliation, whether racial or physical, is a direct assault on these guarantees and signals a dangerous departure from issue-based, principled politics.
The San Youth Network rejects the narrative that Indigenous identity can be used as a political insult. Being San is not a defect, a failure, or a justification for hatred. It is an identity grounded in resilience, knowledge systems, and contributions to the nation’s heritage. The suggestion that Indigenous Peoples are collectively blameworthy or deserving of ridicule is not only false but deeply harmful.
As San Youth Network, we call for immediate accountability. This includes a public apology, clear condemnation by political leadership and party, and concrete measures to prevent the recurrence of racist and demeaning campaign practices. Political parties must discipline their members, and electoral authorities must enforce ethical standards that protect communities from hate-based campaigning.
Our advocacy is rooted in a simple principle: democracy cannot thrive where dignity is negotiable. Botswana’s future depends on leadership that confronts injustice, not exploits it, that builds unity, not division. Racism, whether explicit or implied, has no place in our politics, and Indigenous Peoples will not remain silent in the face of its resurgence.
Mmegi Sunday Standard/ The Telegraph BW Presidency BW Nama Development Trust Duma Gideon Boko IPACC - Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee United Nations Human Rights Botswana Khwedom Council
