2021 in Botswana

January – Botswana joins the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative during a visit from Foreign Minister Wang Yi.^[1]
12 January – Debswana terminates its US$1.3 billion contract with Thiess.^[2]
25 January – The statutory rape trial of Member of Parliament Polson Majaga begins.^[3]
28 January – Clicks Group announces the closure of all remaining Musica locations.^[4]
29 January – COVID-19 pandemic: Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Tumiso Rakgare announces a temporary end to contact sport in Botswana.^[5]

22 February – The Bank of Botswana updates its 10 pula note with the portrait of President Masisi after a three year delay.^[6]
February – Botswana gives reprieve to Zimbabwean refugees enrolled in higher education courses.^[7]
25 February – President Masisi meets with President of Namibia Hage Geingob in Windhoek.^[8]

5 March – A helicopter crashes outside of Sojwe, killing musician Sasa Klaas.^[9]
19 March – President Masisi meets with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in South Africa.^[10]
22 March – Botswana agrees to the partnership between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union.^[11]

April – The DumaTau resort is reopened by Wilderness Safaris.^[12]
5 April – Goabaone Taylor is appointed as the CEO of the Botswana Football Association.^[13]
16 April – Botswana restores its hunting season, including licenses to hunt 287 elephants.^[14]
13 April – A telehealth program is announced in Botswana through the United States University Partnerships Initiative.^[15]
14 April – Botswana bans the importation of South African poultry in response to an avian influenza outbreak.^[16]
16 April – Minister of Finance Thapelo Matsheka is replaced by Peggy Serame.^[17]
19 April – Access Bank Group agrees to purchase a majority stake in African Banking Corporation of Botswana.^[18]
27 April –
- COVID-19 pandemic: Botswana announces that it has imported enough COVID-19 vaccines to immunise every adult in the country.^[19]
- COVID-19 pandemic: President Masisi goes into self-quarantine, prompting the postponement of a meeting of the leaders of Southern Africa to address the insurgency in Cabo Delgado.^[20]
- Botswana and Zambia sign a bilateral agreement to facilitate travel between the countries on the Kazungula Bridge.^[21]

May – The Botswana Athletics Association holds the National Athletics Championships in Botswana, hosting for several Southern African countries.^[22]
10 May – The Kazungula Bridge is inaugurated.^[23]
21 May – The Botswana High Court rules that the Ba-Ga-Malete Tribe is entitled to the land of Forest Hill, Botswana.^[24]
26 May – COVID-19 pandemic: Minister of Health Edwin Dikoloti announces government support for any business that produces equipment to assist in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.^[25]

June – The Central Tuli Game Reserve becomes the first nature reserve in Botswana to use Smart Parks sensor systems to track wildlife.^[26]
2 June – NMG Benefits is appointed as the manager of the Botswana's Public Officers Pension Fund.^[27]
3 June – Botswana enters into an agreement with Moderna to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.^[28]
8 June – Botswana grants a three year media contract to Steve Harvey, prompting backlash from local media.^[29]
16 June – A 1,098-carat diamond is presented to Botswana government after being discovered at the Jwaneng diamond mine, becoming the third largest diamond ever discovered.^[30]

July – The epidemic of HfN1 avian flu spreads to Botswana.^[31]
5 July – Botswana authorises Shumba Energy to create the country's first large scale solar plant.^[32]
7 July – A 1,174-carat diamond is presented to Botswana government after being discovered at the Karowe diamond mine, becoming the third largest diamond ever discovered.^[33]
13 July – Botswana begins work on its first iron-ore mine.^[34]
16 July – COVID-19 pandemic: Schools in Botswana are closed for one month in response to COVID-19 outbreaks.^[35]
26 July – Botswana sends 296 soldiers to Mozambique to fight the insurgency in Cabo Delgado.^[36]
30 July – Khoemacau Copper Mine is officially opened.^[37]

August –
- Boyce Sebetela is appointed by President Masisi as the first Chief of Staff.^[38]
- Okwa Diamonds agrees to purchase the Ghaghoo diamond mine from Botswana Diamonds for US$4 million.^[39]
23 August – Intelligence agent Welheminah Mphoeng Maswabi is acquitted on charges of conspiring to effect regime change.^[40]
27 August – COVID-19 pandemic: Botswana guarantees that undocumented immigrants and refugees will be allowed COVID-19 vaccines.^[41]

2–3 September – The foreign ministers of Botswana and Namibia meet to address violence along the Botswana–Namibia border.
6 September – COVID-19 pandemic: Botswana ends some of its pandemic restrictions on the sale of alcohol and public gatherings.^[42]
7 September – Dickey's Barbecue Pit enters into an agreement to open eight locations in Botswana.^[43]
9–19 September – Botswana hosts the 2021 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in its first appearance at the event.^[44]
16 September – Botswana and Namibia disband the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security, replacing it with a bi-national commission.^[45]
20 September – Motlamorago Gaseitsewe resigns as president of the Botswana Red Cross Society.^[46]
28 September – Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi announces the sale of BCL copper mine to Canadian mining company Premium Nickel Resources.^[47]

October – Botswana joins the International Maritime Organization to facilitate maritime transit through Mozambique.^[48]
12 October – The Court of Appeal begins hearing a case to overturn the decriminalisation of homosexuality.^[49]
18 October – Botswana signs a 10 megawatt gas-fired power agreement with Tlou Energy in a move away from coal.^[50]

10 November – President Masisi visits Paris to speak to UNESCO and French businesses.^[51]
11 November – COVID-19 pandemic: A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Omicron variant, is discovered in Botswana.^[52]
29 November – The Court of Appeal unanimously upholds a case decriminalising homosexuality.^[53]

2 December – The World Health Organization certifies that the mother-to-child HIV transmission in Botswana has fallen under five percent.^[54]
29 December – Goabaone Taylor is suspended as CEO of the Botswana Football Association amid allegations of misappropriated funds.^[55]

Incumbents