Botswana president in self-quarantine, will miss Sadc meeting on Mozambique attacks

Botswana’s president will miss a southern African regional meeting he was due to chair on Thursday to discuss recent attacks on Mozambique after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, prompting him to self-quarantine, his office said on Tuesday.

Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique will be attending a summit of a division of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) where they will receive a report on how they can help Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province after Islamic State-linked attacks there.

Botswana is the current chair of that division, which is tasked with promoting peace and security in the region.

Vice-president Slumber Tsogwane will lead Botswana’s delegation to the summit, the president’s press secretary Batlhalefi Leagajang said in a statement.

Leagajang said President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s self-quarantine was “out of an abundance of caution”.

Botswana has recorded more than 45,850  coronavirus infections and more than 690 deaths since the pandemic began, according to a Reuters tally.