Is Botswana's Shoot-To-Kill Policy In The Fight Against Poaching Justified?
Two days back, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) released a statement communicating the killing of four individuals, who were later identified as Namibian citizens, along the Chobe River who they identified as poachers. Reports coming out of Namibian media refutes the poachers narrative, with family members of the deceased pointing out that they were merely fishermen gunned down by trigger-happy security forces. The Namibian government, in its response , was quick to point out that though they do not condone poaching activities, they were very much against the extra-judicial killings of its citizens which came about as a result of the BDF's shoot-to-kill anti-poaching policy. Initially implemented in 2013 by the Khama administration as a way to curb the mass slaughter of wildlife in the country's wildlife territories, the policy has been a source of diplomatic tensions with neighbors over the years. According to reports , since the adoption of the policy, 30 Namibians and 22
