The Botswana Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed reports that Botswana plans to close its diplomatic mission in Zimbabwe, the local press reported. The report quoted the ministry spokesperson, Clifford Maribe, as saying “there is nothing of that sort”. ”The minister has said before that our mission in Harare will remain open,” Maribe said. Corroborating the ministry’s stand, an official at the Botswana mission in Harare, Tiny Gaotlole, told a local newspaper here on the phone that nothing has changed. Newspaper reports in Harare have speculated that the Botswana Embassy in Harare would be shut by Christmas, after relations between the two countries soured. Botswana has refused to recognise President Robert Mugabe’s recent election and its President, Ian Khama, has publicly criticised his Zimbabwe counterpart.
