In the 1970s , the city was involved in the conflicts of the Rhodesian Bush War and South Africa under apartheid . Thousands of South Africans and Rhodesians crossed the border and into the country where they either stayed in Gaborone or Francistown , or flew to Zambia or Tanzania to participate in anti-apartheid movements or freedom-fighting activities with Joshua Nkomo 's Zimbabwe African People 's Union . The runaways put economic stress on the city , caused the standard of living to decrease , and created tensions not only between the governments of Botswana , South Africa , and Rhodesia but also between the citizens within Botswana and the refugees . A quote from a government official summarizes the conundrum : Gaborone has experienced a multitude of attacks by the South African military in the 1980s . On 13 May 1983 , South Africa sent helicopters to attack the army base outside of Gaborone . On 14 June 1985 , South Africa attacked an anti-apartheid group in the Raid on Gaborone . The raids resulted in twelve civilian deaths . After the raid , the United States withdrew its ambassador to South Africa . South African forces also ambushed the Botswana Defence Force barracks just northwest of the city towards Mogoditshane on 19 May 1986 ; a government worker was killed during the helicopter-borne attack . South Africa claimed that they were rooting out African National Congress terrorists . Another attack on 28 March 1988 left four dead in Gaborone
Raid on Gaborone
Raid on Gaborone
History of Gaborone