Africa-Press – Botswana. Minister of Communications and Innovation, Mr David Tshere, has sounded the alarm against the growing threat of cybercrime calling on Batswana to unite in defending the nation’s digital frontiers.
He made the call when launching the ‘Twantsho Botsotsi’ campaign during the official opening of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Mogoditshane on Monday.
Held under the theme: Building Cyber Resilience for Now and for the Future, the campaign seeks to equip citizens with knowledge and vigilance to stay safe online.
The ‘Twantsho Botsotsi’ initiative, he explained, was a joint effort between BoFiNet and Cybersmart Botswana aimed at raising awareness about digital safety.
He said teams from the two organisations would tour dikgotla across the country, educating communities especially the elderly on how to recognise and avoid online scams.
Mr Tshere said the rise in scams, fraud and cyber-attacks targeting individuals and institutions demanded a strong collective response.
“Cybersecurity is not a luxury but a necessity. As Botswana’s digital footprint grows, so too does our obligation to safeguard that space, protect our citizens and ensure opportunity in cyberspace is secure, inclusive and trustworthy,” he stressed.
The minister also emphasised government’s commitment to strengthening Botswana’s digital security framework through the recent enactment of the Cybersecurity Bill (2025), the Cybercrime and Computer Related Crime Act and the Data Protection Act.
He emphasised that cyber resilience was not a one-time achievement but a continuous journey of awareness, adaptation and action.
Cybersmart Botswana Programme coordinator, Mr David Moepeng said the objective of the campaign was not only to raise awareness about cybercrime, but also to promote the positive use of technology.
He said their goal was to educate communities and teach Batswana especially the youth, how to access opportunities and employment online while at the same time protecting themselves from cyber threats.
Providing insights into the state of cybercrime in Botswana, Cybercrime and Digital Forensics Expert, Mr Douglas Sekgweng revealed that many Batswana had fallen victim to various forms of online fraud.
The most prevalent cases, he said included financial scams, online shopping fraud and online dating scams. Therefore, he urged the public to remain vigilant and to report such cases immediately.
Mr Sekgweng added that his company had developed a scam detection platform where victims could report fraudulent incidents and received assistance in real time.
On the financial front, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Head of Revenue Assurance and Fraud Manager, Mr Isaac Kajane, warned that major fraud schemes currently affecting citizens include SIM swaps, social engineering and bank-to-wallet scams.
He said they continued to see cases where people registered SIM cards for others, not realising they were enabling fraudsters.
He urged Batswana to never register SIM cards on behalf of anyone, because criminals used such tricks to swindle people of their hard-earned cash.
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