Namibian truck driver held in Botswana with 100 kg of dagga
Botswana police intercepted Namibian driver Mbaunguraije Kaitjirokere at the Mamuno border and seized about 100 kg of cannabis from his truck. He appeared in the Gantsi court on a trafficking charge, was remanded in custody and had not yet pleaded by his second appearance in early March 2026.
Botswana police intercepted and searched a truck driven by 31-year-old Namibian
Mbaunguraije Kaitjirokere at the Mamuno border during an operation.[1]He
appeared in Botswana’s Gantsi Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of
trafficking in narcotic drugs.[1]He faces a single count of cross-border drug
trafficking and had not yet been asked to plead.[2]
Botswana police said they recovered eight boxes of cannabis weighing over 100kg
from the truck.[1]A later NBC account described the seizure as 100 kilograms
of dagga, the regional term for cannabis.[2]The driver was heading to South
Africa, and police put the estimated value of the contraband at over N$600,000.[2]
After his first appearance, he was remanded in prison and scheduled to reappear
on 26 February.[1]After a second brief appearance in the Gantsi court, he was
remanded in custody.[2]He is expected back in court on 12 March and has not
been asked to plead, with police saying unresolved processes form part of
ongoing investigations.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Charged
1
Cannabis
100 kg
Value (official estimate)
NAD 600,000
Agency
Botswana Police Service
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (100 kg)
Activity
Trafficking, Smuggling
Setting
Land border, Vehicle
Charges
trafficking in narcotic drugs; a single count of cross-border drug trafficking crime
The exact date of the interception and seizure was not given; 12 February 2026 is inferred as the Thursday court appearance before the 14 February publication, with the operation shortly before.
The Namibian reports over 100kg in eight boxes while NBC reports 100 kilograms; 100 is recorded and the higher wording noted.
The exact date of the second Gantsi appearance was not given; the NBC page was created on 6 March 2026 and says the next hearing is 12 March.
No plea or court outcome beyond remand and the March date was reported.
Clifford Nkomo, 51, was arrested at a farm in Gantsi and charged with unlawful possession and unlawful cultivation after police reported about 500 kg of cannabis worth P250,000, plus about 1 kg in sachets. He was remanded to 27 April 2026.
Police seized seven bags holding 79.1 kg of cannabis from four men stopped along the Trans Kalahari road near Lobatse on 26 October 2025. The four pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of dagga, while two admitted overstaying and one admitted entering Botswana through an un-gazetted point.
Maun Magistrates Court sentenced South African truck driver Thapelo Skhosana, 29, to 10 years in jail for trafficking dagga after police found 29.4 kilograms in his truck at Makalamabedi gate in January 2022. He was given two days to pay a P20 000 fine in place of five years, failed to raise the money, and will serve the full decade, backdated to his arrest.
Botswana police arrested two men from Bulawayo and a Motswana woman after 90 bags of dagga were found hidden in a house in Mabuzu Ward, and all three appeared in the Masunga Magistrate’s Court for unlawful possession. Police said the weight of the consignment had not been established; the bags were of the size used for 5kg of mealie-meal.
