2019 in Botswana

Decades:	1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s; ;
See also:	Other events of 2019; Timeline of Botswana history;

Events in the year 2019 in Botswana.

Incumbents

President: Mokgweetsi Masisi
Vice President: Slumber Tsogwane
Speaker of the National Assembly:
- Gladys Kokorwe (until 5 November)
- Phandu Skelemani (after 5 November)
Chief Justice of Botswana: Terence Rannowane

Ongoing

White-backed vulture poisonings in Africa

Events

8 January – Botswana bans the importation of cloven hoofed animals from South Africa following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.^[1]
15 January – Former Director of Intelligence Services Isaac Kgosi is arrested on tax evasion charges.^[2]
20 February – Football manager David Bright is removed from his position as national football coach.^[3]
28 February
- President Masisi announces a one billion pula ($95 million) line of credit to Zimbabwe.^[4]
- The High Court of Botswana hears a case to decriminalise homosexuality.^[5]
April – The Okavango Blue, a 20-carat blue diamond, is unveiled.^[6]
5 April – The Botswana Democratic Party announces that President Masisi is its next presidential candidate following the withdrawal of Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.^[7]
10 April – The Lesedi La Rona, a 302 carat diamond, is unveiled.^[8]
26 April – The Sewelô, a 1,758-carat diamond, is announced.^[9]
29 April – Botswana hosts regional National Rapid Response training with the World Health Organization at the Avani Resort Center.^[10]
22 May – Botswana lifts its ban on elephant hunting.^[11]
25 May – Former president Ian Khama announces that he will no longer support the Botswana Democratic Party and would work with the Botswana Patriotic Front to unseat the party's members.^[12]
June – A poisoning kills 537 endangered and critically endangered vultures.^[13]
11 June - The High Court overturns a ban on homosexuality.^[14]
October – Scheduled date for the 2019 Botswana general election

Deaths

25 January – Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Gaborone (b. 1927).^[15]

References

^ "Botswana bans animal meat, products from SA". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Botswana arrests ex-spy boss". The Mail & Guardian. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ Dube, Mqondisi (20 February 2019). "Botswana sack coach David Bright". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ Musvanhiri, Privilege (1 March 2019). "Botswana extends credit line to Zimbabwe". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Botswana court hears bid to scrap anti-gay laws". Egypt Independent. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ Thom, Liezl (17 April 2019). "Rare 20-carat blue diamond unveiled in Botswana". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Botswana's Masisi gets BDP nod as Venson-Moitoi walks out of 'sham' election". Africa Times. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Giant Diamond Over 300 Carats Unveiled". News 24. 10 April 2019.
^ "1,758-carat diamond, world's second largest, found in Botswana". Daily Sabah. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Botswana and the WHO co-host four SADC countries to conduct Regional Training on National Rapid Response Teams - Botswana | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ Ingber, Sasha (23 May 2019). "Botswana Lifts Its Ban On Elephant Hunting". NPR.
^ "Ian Khama formalises his divorce from Botswana's ruling party". ISS Africa. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Catastrophic vulture poisoning in Botswana 'one of biggest ever'". BirdGuides. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ Katz, Brigit (11 June 2019). "In Landmark Ruling, Botswana Strikes Down Colonial-Era Law Criminalizing Homosexuality". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
^ "Bishop Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 27 January 2019.

[1] "Botswana bans animal meat, products from SA". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[2] "Botswana arrests ex-spy boss". The Mail & Guardian. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[3] Dube, Mqondisi (20 February 2019). "Botswana sack coach David Bright". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[4] Musvanhiri, Privilege (1 March 2019). "Botswana extends credit line to Zimbabwe". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[5] "Botswana court hears bid to scrap anti-gay laws". Egypt Independent. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[6] Thom, Liezl (17 April 2019). "Rare 20-carat blue diamond unveiled in Botswana". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[7] "Botswana's Masisi gets BDP nod as Venson-Moitoi walks out of 'sham' election". Africa Times. 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[8] "Giant Diamond Over 300 Carats Unveiled". News 24. 10 April 2019.

[9] "1,758-carat diamond, world's second largest, found in Botswana". Daily Sabah. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[10] "Botswana and the WHO co-host four SADC countries to conduct Regional Training on National Rapid Response Teams - Botswana | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[11] Ingber, Sasha (23 May 2019). "Botswana Lifts Its Ban On Elephant Hunting". NPR.

[12] "Ian Khama formalises his divorce from Botswana's ruling party". ISS Africa. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[13] "Catastrophic vulture poisoning in Botswana 'one of biggest ever'". BirdGuides. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[14] Katz, Brigit (11 June 2019). "In Landmark Ruling, Botswana Strikes Down Colonial-Era Law Criminalizing Homosexuality". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

[15] "Bishop Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 27 January 2019.

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v t e Years in Botswana (1966–present)
History Timeline
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v t e 2019 in Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies, colonies and other territories	Ascension Island Mayotte Réunion Saint Helena Tristan da Cunha Western Sahara