Botswana issues arrest warrant for former president Ian Khama

• Ian Khama is accused of theft and money laundering.
• He has disputed the accusations and claims they are the result of a political plot.
• The 69-year-old left Botswana for South Africa.

For having illegal firearms in his hands, a court in Botswana has issued an arrest order for former president Ian Khama.

The judge gave the go-ahead for Mr. Khama’s immediate detention.

The 69-year-old departed the nation last year and has been living in South Africa, a neighboring country.

After a disagreement with his successor President Mokgweetsi Masisi, he has disputed the accusations and claims they are the result of a political plot.

After serving two terms of five years, Mr. Khama resigned in 2018.

He is accused of handling stolen property and money laundering among the 14 charges against him. Only the possession of five illicit guns is the subject of the issued warrant.

Together with the former heads of the police and intelligence agencies, he is accused of crimes.

The arrest order was issued after Mr. Khama skipped his trial earlier this year. It might open the door for Botswana to ask South Africa for his extradition.

The son of Botswana’s first president, Seretse Khama, Mr. Khama told the Mmegi news website that he would welcome an extradition request since it would allow him to testify in a foreign court against the “lies” that have been spread about him.

He told the reupdated media outlet’s show that the charges were “fabricated” and that he suspected people in Mr. Masisi’s government intended “to do me harm”.

“He wants to eliminate me before the 2024 elections because he views me as his biggest stumbling block to his re-election,” Mr Khama said of his successor.

The government called his allegations of a planned assassination “outrageous”.

“The narrative that the former president and his family members are being persecuted is devoid of any truth,” government spokesperson John-Thomas Dipowe said in May.

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