On 4 November 2020, anti-poaching forces of the

Botswana Defence Force The Botswana Defence Force (BDF, tn, Sesole Sa Botswana) is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 ...

(BDF) killed four men at

Sedudu Sedudu Island (known as Kasikili Island in Namibia) is a fluvial island in the Chobe River, in Botswana adjacent to the border with Namibia. The island was the subject of a territorial dispute between these countries, resolved by a 1999 ruling o ...

on the

Chobe River The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called t ...

at the

Botswana–Namibia border The Botswana–Namibia border is a long border between Botswana and Namibia. Border crossings Border crossings: Namibia * Buitepos * Shakawe * Ngoma * Impalila Other Zambia * Kazungula Sedudu island dispute In 1992, the uninh ...

. The men killed were brothers Tommy Nchindo, Martin Nchindo, and Wamunyima Nchindo, and their cousin Sinvula Munyeme. The killings caused an

international incident {{Refimprove, date=December 2011 An international incident (or diplomatic incident) is a seemingly relatively small or limited action, incident or clash that results in a wider dispute between two or more nation-states. International incidents can ...

between Botswana and Namibia.

Background

Botswana has historically struggled to address

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

, and the government had authorised military force with a shoot-to-kill policy to protect native fauna. The policy is controversial in the

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

region, with critics arguing that it presents a threat to innocent civilians. At least 12 suspected poachers had previously been killed by

anti-poaching forces in 2020, and a total of 37 Namibian citizens were killed in poaching raids by December 2021. The countries of Botswana and Namibia share close relations, but the shoot-to-kill policy has caused tension between the two governments and their citizens. In 2018, the government of Botswana hired a Namibian man to monitor activity on the

while working as a

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

. The tour guide alerted the BDF after spotting the four men on the Chobe River. A brother of one of the victims who is still alive claims that the tour guide knew the Nchindo family personally before the killings.

Killings

At approximately 11pm on 4 November 2020, brothers Tommy Nchindo, Martin Nchindo, and Wamunyima Nchindo, and their cousin Sinvula Munyeme were killed by anti-poaching forces of the

on the

at the

. Relatives of the deceased said that they were not poachers, but that they were fishermen and that they were unarmed.

Aftermath

The incident challenged diplomatic relations between Botswana and Namibia and began a long term escalation of the debate over BDF practices at the Botswana–Namibia border. Following the incident, President

Mokgweetsi Masisi Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (born 21 July 1961) is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He served as the 8th Vice President of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was a Member of Parliament in the N ...

of Botswana and President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 ...

of Namibia spoke over the telephone to discuss a joint investigation, and Geingob received the family of the deceased at the state house. Geingob condemned the shoot-to-kill policy and supported the position that the men killed were innocent civilians. The diplomatic aspects of the incident were complicated by the site of the killings at Sedudu, which had been the subject of an intense border dispute 21 years prior. In response to the killings, anti-Botswana protests took place in Namibia cities including

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

and

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two Constituencies of Namibia, electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and ...

. The government of Botswana announced an inquest into the killings in November 2021. Namibian Lives Matter criticised the action, arguing that it should instead be brought to trial as a murder case under the

High Court of Botswana The High Court of Botswana is the highest court of Botswana. It is based in Gaborone with branches in Lobatse, Francistown, and Maun. It operates above the Magistrates' Courts of Botswana, but below the Appeal Court. The High Court is headed by t ...

. Presiding officer Taboka Mopipi ruled in January 2022 that the killings were an act of

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

after determining that the men killed were the first to shoot. Namibian Lives Matter's leader Sinvula Mudabeti condemned the ruling, describing it as a "miscarriage of justice", arguing that no weapons were found at the scene. New allegations were made by the Namibian government in December 2021 that the men killed were forcibly abducted from Namibian territory by the BDF and taken Botswana to have them killed, though this point was conceded by the Namibian government at the conclusion of the inquest. Namibia's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security launched its own investigation of BDF activity on the Chobe River in July 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020 Botswana-Namibia border killings 2020 in Botswana 2020 in Namibia 2020 military operations Ambushes in Africa Botswana–Namibia border Diplomatic incidents People killed by armed forces Poaching