After a one-year hiatus, the BOMU Awards are back — bigger, shinier and asking harder questions. From AI-generated music and recycled songs to the often-invisible creatives behind Botswana’s biggest sounds, this year’s “Beyond Music” edition wants to redefine what deserves a trophy
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
The comeback has a soundtrack. It also has questions.
After sitting out a year, the Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) Awards are returning to the Gaborone International Convention Centre on 29 August, promising the usual red carpet energy, and industry bragging rights. But this time, the party comes with a serious subplot: what exactly counts as musical excellence in 2026?
At a recent Stakeholders and Media Engagement, Awards Coordinator Seabelo Modibe revealed that the evolving use of artificial intelligence is becoming one of the industry’s headaches.
“Some of the challenges of the BOMU Awards is evolution of AI music,” Modibe said. “AI takes adaptation of other people’s songs. It’s the issue of ownership. It’s a global challenge. There is another challenge, some entrants use old songs to compete for awards.”
THE MACHINE IN THE STUDIO
AI has gone from sci-fi novelty to studio companion, capable of assisting with vocals, production and composition. That technological leap is forcing music awards worldwide to wrestle with a deceptively simple question: where does human creativity end and machine authorship begin?
For BOMU, the challenge is not simply keeping up with technology. It is protecting the meaning of the awards themselves.
BEYOND THE HEADLINERS
That makes this year’s theme, “Beyond Music,” particularly timely. The ceremony aims to recognise not only performers but also producers, songwriters, sound engineers, promoters and other creative workers who keep Botswana’s music machine running.
Newly elected BOMU President Gloria Dzwikiti said the people behind the music deserve their moment.
“Making music is not easy,” she said. “Yet they continue to create, perform, entertain and tell Botswana’s stories through their music.”
With public voting closing on 26 August, the countdown is officially on. By the time the lights hit GICC, BOMU will be celebrating the artists who made the music while confronting a new question about how much of that music is still unmistakably human.