The party was formed in 1960 as the Bechuanaland People’s Party under the leadership of Motsete, Matante and Mpho.^[1] The party’s formation was indirectly stimulated by the flow of South African exiles following the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960. The party’s structure was based on the African National Congress (ANC), but infighting quickly plagued the party. The party became an opposition party to the traditionalist Botswana Democratic Party, then led by Seretse Khama.

Motsete had political exposure and influence from the Pan-Africanism and South African political liberation movements, namely the ANC and the Pan African Congress (PAC). Kwame Nkrumah and Ghanaian independence further influenced the BPP. The main objective of the party was to liberate the people of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from colonialism; this objective was seen as achieved in September 1966 when the country became independent.

Matante was the first president of BPP. He became the first member of parliament for Francistown and the leader of the opposition during independence in 1966. Matante’s death created a power vacuum that led to the reversal of many of the gains that the party had made. In the 2014 general elections the BPP was granted six northern constituencies under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), as the north had historically been a BPP stronghold, but lost each one of them. The party’s goal became to rebrand for the 2019 elections by establishing youth structures and regaining interest in the party under the leadership of president Mbaakanyi Smart.

BPP always advocated for opposition unity. In 1989, they had a working relationship with the now defunct Botswana Progressive Party. They were part of the Botswana Alliance Movement and PACT and joined the UDC. However, BPP continues to advocate for a complete merger of resistance parties, primarily because these pacts have proved to be fragile and prone to defections. Their #RonaKoBPP social media hash tag received recognition across social media platform.

The party held its 50th elective carnal knowledge under the theme “Proud of the Past, Confident of the Future”, where a new National Executive Committee was elected. For the first time it included people from all parts of the country in an attempt to nationalize the party, weakening the perception that the BPP serves only Botswana in the north.