[4] In the 1980s, Mathangwane was known for persistent vehicle accidents that occurred at the Shashe River single-lane bridge linking the village to the City of Francistown.

With the emergence of Francistown as a city in 1997 and the political and economic instability in Zimbabwe, Mathangwane saw an influx of migrants from other tribes of Botswana who couldn't afford accommodation rentals in the new city and illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe who had fled economic collapse and political persecution causing rapid growth to the village population.

[6] The Constituency has since been renamed Shahe-West following a number of heated high level Kgotla meetings in Mathangwane where the majority of residents pointed out their detest of the former name.

[7] In February 2017, Tropical Cyclone Dineo triggered destructive floods[10] in and around Mathangwane, badly damaging the A3 highway between the City of Francistown and Sebina Junction and further north from the village of Nata to Gweta, badly disrupting traffic with some parts of the road having to be temporarily closed for safety.

[11] The damages to the A3 highway later became some kind of death trap, causing a rise in fatal vehicle accidents in and around Mathangwane following delays by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in effecting repairs.

This arrangement long proved strenuous to underprivileged families with their children dropping from school or performing badly in form five examinations due to the economic pressure.

[14] It later emerged that in light of the revenue constraints due to then ongoing global economic and financial crisis, the Central District Council (CDC) had to prioritise on its projects and the road was never constructed.

Since the turn of year 2000, the only improvements to the existing clinic was an addition of a Maternity Ward and the installation of a Caravan which serves as a Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) center,[16] a part of the existing Botswana's national HIV treatment programme which saw the Government of Botswana being commended by World Health Organization for demonstrating a very high level of political commitment by successfully addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic and showing how antiretroviral therapy could be provided on a large scale in resource-constrained settings.

Settlement in the area may have been chosen for the presence of perennial water sources (from the Shashe and Vukwi Rivers).

In the late 20th century the village streached along the river bank from the North to the South with the west being locals' seasonal farm land.

Mfi Chite was the first Councillor for the village following a win in the October 1974 general elections; this was after the 1972 constitutional amendment which grouped villages of Borolong, Chadibe, Makobo, Mathangwane, Natale and Shashe Mooke into a single Local Government Ward un-axing them from the then Tonota Local Government Ward.

The grouping was broken down further in 1982 constitutional amendment un-axing villages of Borolong, Natale, and Shashemoke from the ward.

Mfi Chite retained the Local Government Ward seat for BDP in both the 1979 and 1984 general elections.

In 2007, Mr. Ipuseng CHIKANDA won the by-election of Mathangwane North Local Government Ward seat for the BDP following the passing of Mr.

The BCP's Local Government surprise victory in the village was viewed as a significant breakthrough in a historical BDP stronghold and opposition parties made an unofficial pact in support of the BCP's Tonota-North Parliamentary candidate, Dr. Habaundi Njiro HOBONA during the 2010 Parliamentary by-election.

Fidelis MacDonald MOLAO visited villagers in Shashe-West Constituency addressing Kgotla meetings accompanied by the Minister of Transport and Communications announcing that the long-awaited Mmandunyane-Shashe Mooke-Borolong-Chadibe-Mathangwane road construction will begin early 2019.

High rates of crime have become a disincentive to permanent settlement and micro business sector growth in the village.

Members of the community are charged entrance fees to access the playing ground used for the Festive Football Tournament with small vendors paying more.

The money collected at the playing ground entrance is mostly used for tournament logistics including paying referees, assistant referees, match commissioners and a private security guard services company which is only engaged for one day for the final games on New Year's Day.

The day marked the first time in the present history that the Main Village Kgotla was filled to capacity by both youths and elders alike.