| Office: | Member of the National Assembly of Botswana for Lentsweletau-Mmopane |
| Termstart: | 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Vincent Seretse |
| Party: | Botswana Democratic Party |
| Alma Mater: | University of Essex (BA) |
Nnaniki Wilhemina Tebogo Makwinja is a Botswanan politician who has served in the National Assembly of Botswana since 2019. A member of the Botswana Democratic Party, she represents the Lentsweletau-Mmopane constituency. Makwinja has also served as the assistant minister for basic education since 2019.
Makwinja attended the University of Essex in England, graduating with a bachelor's degree in sociology and social policy in 1986.[1] After graduating, she began working in the field of human resources management in Botswana. In 1986, she became a human resources employee at Debswana Mining Company, eventually becoming the company's manager for industrial communications and manpower development. After brief tenures with several companies in the 2000s, including a position as head of human resources at a hospital, Makwinja became acting CEO of the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre in 2012. In 2014, she began working at a human resources consulting firm called Leadex Consulting.[2] [3]
A member of the Botswana Democratic Party, Makwinja ran for the National Assembly of Botswana in the 2014 election, running in the Gabane-Mmankgodi constituency. However, she was defeated in the party primary. She ran for parliament again in the 2019 election, running in the Lentsweletau-Mmopane constituency. Though the initial vote-tally in the primary showed her losing to incumbent Vincent Seretse by just 45 votes, Makwinja called for a recount, claiming there were "irregularities" with the election. She was announced the winner of the primary following the recount.[4] [5] Makwinja won the general election, defeating three other candidates with 11,600 votes; her nearest opponent, the Umbrella for Democratic Change candidate, received 5,320 votes.[6] She was one of only three female MPs elected in the 2019 election.[7]
Following her election, Makwinja was appointed Assistant Minister of Basic Education by President Mokgweetsi Masisi.[8] In this role, she oversees Botswana's primary and secondary education systems. She has faced several challenges during her tenure, including an outbreak of "mass hysteria" at a school in Salajwe in 2019,[9] a textbook shortage in 2021,[10] and the reformation of the country's curricula.[11] Makwinja is also an advocate for digitization.[12]
While in parliament, Makwinja has been an advocate for Asian investment into Botswana, supporting the establishment of Chinese-run farms and care facilities in her district,[13] [14] and backing Japanese partnership in the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS program.[15] She is also a prominent supporter of efforts to counter violence against women in Botswana, arguing that in addition to the moral implications, gender-based violence was leading to a loss in productivity. In 2022, she was a speaker at a conference organized by the United Nations Population Fund and the Southern African Development Community on improving sexual and reproductive health and rights.[16]
Makwinja is one of Botswana's delegates to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, serving on the Committee on Middle East Questions.[17]