Editing History of Botswana (section)

=== Presidency of Quett Masire ===
[[File:Quett Masire DF-SC-85-12044.JPEG|thumb|Quett Masire visiting the United States in 1984]]
After Seretse Khama's death in 1980, Vice-President Quett Masire became the president of Botswana.{{Sfn|Robinson|Parsons|2006|p=117}} Despite concerns about Khama's succession, Masire maintained the government infrastructure he helped build and preserved faith in the government.{{Sfn|Samatar|1999|p=182}} To appease Khama's Ngwato tribe and the other northern tribes, Masire appointed Khama's cousin, [[Lenyeletse Seretse]], as vice-president.{{Sfn|Makgala|2009|p=232}} Popular opinion among the Ngwato was that Khama's son, [[Ian Khama]], was entitled to the presidency. Upon Lenyeletse's death in 1983, Masire selected [[Peter Mmusi]] to replace him. This time he selected someone from a southern tribe, so as not to set a precedent that the president and vice-president must always be from opposite regions.{{Sfn|Makgala|2009|p=233}}

Botswana was part of the [[Southern African Development Coordination Conference]] established in 1980 to create a southern African market.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xix}} The nation was affected by the [[early 1980s recession]].{{Sfn|Rotberg|2023|p=220}} The [[Jwaneng diamond mine]] began operation 1982, becoming the most lucrative diamond mine in the world. The [[University of Botswana]] was created the same year when it split from the [[University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland]].{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xix}} Legal developments in 1982, the Financial Assistance Policy and the legalisation of commercial activity by civil servants, spurred the nation's economy but also loosened regulations that would prevent corruption.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=127, 129}} As democracy and economic growth proved to be long-term trends, Botswana garnered a reputation as an "African miracle".{{Sfn|LaRocco|Mogende|2022|pp=24–25}}

Strong opposition to the BDP-controlled government first arose in the 1980s. Opposition parties began winning local elections, interest groups began forming, and five major anti-BDP newspapers began publication.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=78}} Previously dependent on support by specific ethnic groups, the BNF gained support among the working class.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=84}} By the [[1984 Botswana general election|1984 general election]], it was a competitive opposition party.{{Sfn|Brown|2020|p=712}}

A severe drought affected Botswana from 1982 to 1987, necessitating government food assistance for about 65% of rural Batswana.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=82}} Masire's critics associated him with this drought as it coincided with the beginning of his presidency, suggesting that Khama had a divine mandate that Masire did not.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=203}} Mid-way through the 1980s, the diamond industry reached its peak at 53% of the national GDP.{{Sfn|Hillbom|Bolt|2018|p=110}} By this time, the nation's economy became strong enough that citizens were no longer incentivised to opt for [[subsistence agriculture]] or migration for work in South Africa.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=84}} [[Entrepreneurship]] became more widespread, particularly among former government workers who moved from the [[public sector]] to the [[private sector]].{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=90}} Free [[secondary education]] was established in 1989.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=82}} [[Trade union]]s and other [[special interest group]]s developed in the 1980s to influence public policy, although the government was often unwilling to acknowledge them.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|pp=85–86}} It responded to the burgeoning labour movement by passing heavy restrictions on unions in 1983.{{Sfn|Holm|Molutsi|1992|p=79}} The decade also introduced movements for the recognition of minority ethnicities, rejecting the national Tswana identity.{{Sfn|Nyamnjoh|2007|p=307}}

During the 1980s, South Africa began military incursions into Botswana to seek out South African rebels. In response to the civilian casualties, the government of Botswana increased military spending.{{Sfn|Beaulier|Subrick|2006|p=112}}{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=87}} It also tasked the military with wildlife protection and anti-poaching enforcement in response to the danger posed by armed poachers.{{Sfn|LaRocco|Mogende|2022|p=31}}

The first case of [[HIV/AIDS in Botswana]] was diagnosed in 1985, and over the following decade the country became the most severely affected in the world.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=265}} [[Life expectancy]] in Botswana would drop from 67 to 50 by 1997.{{Sfn|Molutsi|2004|p=175}} A dramatic shift in Botswana's health system followed through the 1980s and 1990s; Western medicine grew more widely respected alongside traditional healing, and private hospitals were established to coexist with the government-run facilities.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=45}}

The [[early 1990s recession]] affected Botswana.{{Sfn|Rotberg|2023|p=220}} [[Attorney General of Botswana v. Unity Dow|A landmark constitutional court case]] brought by [[Unity Dow]] ended with a ruling in 1991 that children could inherit citizenship from their mothers as well as their fathers, which was adopted into law with the [[Citizenship Act of 1995]].{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xx}}

The [[Kgabo Commission]] was held in 1991 to investigate governmental land boards, and it found that ethical violations had been committed by Vice-President Peter Mmusi and BDP Secretary General [[Daniel Kwelagobe]], both of whom were also members of the [[Cabinet of Botswana]].{{Sfn|Lotshwao|Suping|2013|p=346}}{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|p=333}} Facing outrage within the government and among the public, both resigned.{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|p=333}} The fallout created two polarised factions within the party, one led by the two former cabinet members (the Big Two),{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|pp=333–335}} and one led by their opponents (the Big Five): [[Festus Mogae]], [[Bihiti Temane]], [[Chapson Butale]], [[Gaositwe Chiepe]], and their leader [[Mompati Merafhe]].{{Sfn|Makgala|2009|p=235}} This built on tensions that had grown between the southern leadership of the BLP and the new generation of politicians from the north.{{Sfn|Makgala|2009|pp=233–234}} Masire chose Mogae as the new vice-president.{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|p=334}}

Worried about the possibility of normalising corruption, Masire hired the deputy head of the Hong Kong [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)]] to create a similar organisation in Botswana.{{Sfn|Rotberg|2023|p=222}} The [[Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime]] was created in 1994, and a land board tribunal was created to hear appeals of land board decisions in 1995.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xx}}

The BDP's position as the dominant party received its first serious challenge in light of the Kgabo Commission.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=249}} The scandal and the resulting schism in the BDP allowed the BNF to become a more competitive opposition party after the [[1994 Botswana general election|1994 general election]].{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|pp=335–336}}{{Sfn|Lotshwao|Suping|2013|p=346}} With the added complication of urbanisation reducing the BDP's rural base, opposition parties held a significant minority in the National Assembly.{{Sfn|Leith|2005|p=33}} Following Mmusi's death, Kwelagobe aligned with [[Ponatshego Kedikilwe]], and they formed the Barata-Phathi faction of the BDP. The Big Five developed into the A-Team faction.{{Sfn|Lotshwao|Suping|2013|p=346}}

Botswana benefited from the end of the South African Apartheid government in 1994, as the new African-led government did not restrict Botswana's growth or engage in military operations across the border.{{Sfn|Rotberg|2023|p=220}} As the region stabilised, economic developments like [[shopping mall]]s, [[property speculation]], and citizen-owned tourism expanded.{{Sfn|Parsons|2006|p=675}}

The Ngwaketse tribe came into conflict with the government in April 1994, when minister of local government and lands [[Patrick Balope]] accused chief Seepapitso IV of failure to fulfil his duties and ordered the chief's suspension—the second suspension of Seepapitso's rule.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=141}} Seepapitso's son [[Leema]] accepted an appointment to the role, against Seepapitso's wishes.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=141–142}} The tribe wrestled with the issue of Leema's ambiguous legitimacy and the fear that tribal culture would not longer be recognised, and the removal became a national issue.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=142–143}} Seepapitso filed a legal challenge, and the court ruled on 22 February 1995 that while Seepapitso's removal was legal, Leema's appointment was not.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=145}} With the power of appointment returned to the tribe, they refused to choose a new leader as a form of protest. The government then relented and allowed Seepapitso to be reinstated.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=145–146}}

The [[ritual murder]] of [[Segametsi Mogomotsi]], a 14-year-old girl from [[Mochudi]], took place in November 1994. Social unrest broke out when the suspects, who were wealthy businessmen and politicians, were released for lack of evidence. Over the following months, student-led protests and riots against the use of occult practices like ritual murder to gain wealth took place.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=286–290}}

An outbreak of [[contagious bovine pleuropneumonia]] in 1995 caused the deaths of 320,000 cattle.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xx}} The [[Agriculture Act of 1995]] expanded the process of privatising communal land.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=7}}

Minority tribes increasingly pushed for recognition beginning in the 1990s.{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|pp=163–164}} The government began the removal of San people from the [[Central Kalahari Game Reserve]] in 1995.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|p=xx}} While it argued that the intention was to help integrate communities that were too remote, and it offered livestock to incentivise cooperation, international organisations accused the government of coercion and [[forced displacement]] to make room for mining.{{Sfn|Denbow|Thebe|2006|pp=11–12}} The first major legal effort to protect the rights of ethnic minorities came from a 1995 motion in parliament to define the constitution as tribally neutral, but it was tabled. The Kamanakao Association was formed the same year by the academic [[Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo]] to protect the rights of the [[Yeyi people]].{{Sfn|Gulbrandsen|2012|p=215}}

A series of governmental and electoral reforms were implemented in the final years of Masire's presidency. Election supervision was transferred to an independent body, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, [[postal voting]] was implemented, and policies were enacted to protect [[labour rights]] and [[gender equality]].{{Sfn|Molutsi|2004|p=168}} Masire wished to create a stable [[order of succession]] and to ensure that his chosen successor Vice-President Mogae became president, so he worked with the lawyer [[Parks Tafa]] to draft a constitutional amendment. This implemented automatic succession and [[term limit]]s for the presidency.{{Sfn|Ntuane|2018|pp=337–338}} He then forced the amendment through on his own initiative.{{Sfn|Makgala|Malila|2022|pp=304–305}} Reforming the nation's economy, a tentative system of [[tripartism]] was implemented to bring together government, the private sector, and labour representatives.{{Sfn|Molutsi|2004|p=169}} When the party was selecting its central committee membership in 1997, the risk of factionalism grew severe enough that Masire cancelled its internal election and had the factions give him lists of names.{{Sfn|Makgala|2009|p=235}}