Relations between the two neighbouring countries worsened this week after Zanu PF accussed Botswana of “extreme provocation” after President Ian Seretse Khama called for a rerun of elections in Zimbabwe.
Jeff Ramsay, press secretary to Botswana president issued a statement saying that Zimbabwe made the charges that his country was training militias at an extraordinary meeting of regional security ministers in Mozambique on Wednesday. The meeting was convened as a forerunner to the extraordinary summit to be held on Sunday.
Gaborone denied the charges and asked the Sadc troika – the Organ for Politics, Security and Defence, and the Zimbabwean government to set up a fact-finding mission to investigate the charges. The troika accepted the invitation to set up the mission.
Ramsay said President Khama had challenged Harare to provide evidence of such activity.
The statement by Ramsay read: The Government of Zimbabwe alleged that Botswana has been training MDC-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) youths to destabilize Zimbabwe since 2002.
The Government of Botswana dismissed the Zimbabwean allegation as false, baseless, and completely unfounded. The Government of Botswana further requested that the Government of Zimbabwe provides documented evidence on the allegations.
In this regard, the Government of Botswana invited the Organ Troika, together with the Government of Zimbabwe, to undertake a fact-finding mission to Botswana at their earliest opportunity. The Troika accepted the invitation.
For its part, the Organ Troika required that the Government of Zimbabwe provide it with documented evidence, which would be availed to the Government of Botswana.
According to Ramsay the Botswana-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security has met 25 times since 2002 and Zimbabwe had never raised these concerns.
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