Ian Khama

 ( Presidents Of Botswana ) 

Khama won 53.26% of the vote, and a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

Khama put in place a ban on African Elephant hunting in 2014.

The death of John Kalifatis, whose death resulted during the course of a robbery investigation, occurred early in Khama's presidency. The police statement on Kalifatis reads: "The deceased, John Kalafatis, had a warrant of arrest issued against him on 12 January 2009 for armed robbery among others. All along, he was a fugitive from justice." The officers involved claimed that they mistakenly believed him to be reaching for his firearm at the time of the shooting. Other sources dispute this, and claim that Kalafatis had been executed by members of the Botswana Defense Force. The three members of the BDF responsible for the death of Kalifatis were found guilty of murder, and each sentenced to 11 years in prison. They received a presidential pardon from Khama in 2012. This was seen as proof by some sources that Khama was involved in the killing. The prosecuting lawyer for Kalifatis said “What is his special interest in these particular offenders, how can we not suspect that he had a personal interest in the case…?”

Khama has been criticized by some figures for making poor decisions, including by former president Quett Masire, who claimed that the BDP had been taken over by opportunists looking to benefit from senior government positions.

Under Khama, the government has also established the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) with police powers, which is seen as the Botswana equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Although this type of organization is not new and is found in many countries, it has critics in Botswana who charge that there are very few domestic or transnational threats that the police and the military could not handle. Some, including executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Siphosami Malunga, have argued that the institution, initially headed by President Khama's close friend Issac Kgosi, could easily be manipulated and used against political enemies or others who criticize the President or his administration.

On the economic front, Khama has been a vocal proponent of moving Botswana away from its over-reliance on diamonds and diversifying its economy, especially to the agriculture and tourism sector.

Khama put in place a ban on African Elephant hunting during his time as president, and supported conservation efforts in Botswana. In 2018, he criticized President Donald Trump for encouraging elephant poaching.

A teetotalism, Khama has been strongly prohibitionist in his attitude towards alcohol, viewing it as a significant problem.

Diplomatically, he took a strong stance on North Korea's human rights issues. After cutting ties with North Korea in 2014 over its egregious human rights violations, he described the human rights atrocities in the hermit kingdom 'worse than the African refugee issues', particularly during the mass famine in the 1990s. He gave an interview with the Yonhap News Agency during his visit to Seoul, South Korea in 2015, criticizing the North's leaders for 'living in the Stone Age' and called their aggressive actions unacceptable.

In 2018, after resigning from the presidency, Khama became a member of the Board of Directors of the US-based organization Conservation International, which is also active in Botswana. In 2021, Khama went on a self-imposed exile, during which he claimed that there had been a plot to poison him.

In December 2022 a court in Botswana issued an arrest warrant for Khama for the possession of five illegal firearms after his failure to appear in court. On 13 September 2024, Ian Khama returned to Botswana after three years in exile, to appear in court and request to be released pending trial. On 30 November 2024, he resumed his seat as Kgosikgolo of BaNgwato, taking the regal name Khama IV, amid celebrations at the Serowe Sports Complex attended by national and international dignitaries, ending a century of regency for BaNgwato. The incoming government following the 2024 Botswana elections dropped the firearms charges, which Khama had alleged were politically motivated tactics from the former Masisi government.

On 20 January 2025, Khama was sworn in as a member of the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, the advisory body of hereditary chiefs advising Parliament. In September 2025, as part of the party's rapprochement plan with Khama under the leadership of Mpho Balopi, the BDP announced the rescission of Khama's 2019 expulsion from the party, thereby restoring his membership.