Botswana rejects controversial UK proposal on asylum-seekers

Botswana's foreign minister, Lemogang Kwape, has disclosed in an interview with a South African TV channel that the British government approached Botswana to receive migrants deported from the UK.

It was however not clear the exact timing of this approach.

This development comes in the wake of earlier reports in the British press suggesting that the UK government sought to implement a scheme similar to its controversial Rwanda initiative in Botswana, Armenia, Ivory Coast, and Costa Rica.

In the phone interview with Newzroom Afrika, Kwape stated that Botswana declined the request. He clarified that the contact was made by Britain's foreign secretary and minister for Africa through diplomatic channels.

Kwape emphasized that Botswana's decision was influenced by its own immigration challenges, asserting, "The British government does not want these people in their country so they want to ferry them to a faraway country... To receive unwanted immigrants from another country while we're dealing with our own problems in the region would be unfair to Botswana."