The Basarwa want the court to restrain the government officials from removing them from CKGR until and unless they have received advice from their attorneys and have given free and informed consent to the removal. They want the court to direct the state to desist from preventing the return of one of the applicants Amogelang Segootsane, his wife and family to Gugama in the CKGR until a substantive suit the Basarwa group filed against their relocation from the CKGR by the government is determined.
Their application was postponed yesterday to allow the state file and serve answering documents by Monday and get a reply if any by Tuesday. When the matter came up, Sidney Pilane for the state said he had not been able to take instructions as he had received the notice of motion late on Tuesday. He said the application raised issues of fact and they need to call officers from Gantsi. Pilane said that the government is not removing anybody from the CKGR.
He said part of the reserve has been closed off. He said an applicant (Amogelang) Segootsane is an activist of the First People of the Kalahari and was moving back and forth from the reserve transacting the organisation’s business. Pilane said that Segootsane partly lives in Kaudwane, Salajwe and CKGR. He said that the type of movement he is engaging in will not be allowed as long as part of the CKGR is closed off. Pilane said that Segootsane should not be an exception, and he is banned from entering the area like anyone else.
“There is no reason to let him in and out on account of his political activities”, said Pilane. He said that as Segootsane who still lives in the CKGR has claimed he is a hunter and gatherer, he must stay at his home in the reserve. Pilane said that when the need arose to close off part of the reserve, Segootsane’s right to bring water into the reserve was affected. He said that Segootsane was supplying those who had moved back into the reserve in Gugamma. He said that 114 people had resettled inside the reserve and re-established themselves in four settlements. “This is the area where an outbreak of disease has been detected and there is need to seal it off”, said Pilane.
Basarwa attorney, Duma Boko said that the fate of Segootsane should be resolved by safeguarding his interests in the CKGR. Boko argued that his client should be allowed to enjoy the rights he had before the closure of the reserve. He said these includes the right of association and movement. Boko said the closure of part of the reserve was meant to deal with the spread and transmission of disease and should not occasion an abandonment of rights.
He said that Segootsane’s permit to bring water in the CKGR has been suspended and called for its restoration. He said his client’s livestock had been removed and he is faced with immense hardships and the drastic limitations were unreasonable.
Boko said due to his decency, Segootsane shared water with those in need. His permit to bring in water into the reserve was on condition that he used it with his family.
