{"id":34125,"date":"2026-05-10T08:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=34125"},"modified":"2026-05-10T08:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:37:38","slug":"au-pays-tribute-to-former-botswana-president-festus-mogae","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/au-pays-tribute-to-former-botswana-president-festus-mogae\/","title":{"rendered":"AU pays tribute to former Botswana President Festus Mogae"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a statement released on behalf of the AU Commission, Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf expressed profound sorrow at Mogae\u2019s death and praised his contribution to democratic governance, economic development and peacebuilding across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mogae, who served as Botswana\u2019s President from 1998 to 2008, was widely recognised for overseeing a period of economic stability and strong governance in the southern African nation. During his tenure, Botswana maintained its reputation as one of Africa\u2019s most stable democracies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The AU said Mogae\u2019s leadership extended beyond Botswana, particularly through his involvement in peace efforts in South Sudan. He served as Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, where he helped oversee the implementation of peace agreements aimed at ending conflict and promoting reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMogae was a respected African statesman whose humility, integrity, and unwavering commitment to peace, democracy and good governance inspired generations across our continent,\u201d Youssouf said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The AU Commission added that Africa had lost a distinguished leader whose work contributed significantly to continental development and stability.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;AU\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34030,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34125","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Union (AU) has paid tribute to former Botswana President Festus Mogae following his passing, describing him as a respected statesman and committed Pan-Africanist.","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Union (AU) has paid tribute to former Botswana President Festus Mogae following his passing, describing him as a respected statesman and committed Pan-Africanist.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34126,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34125\/revisions\/34126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}