Mmutlane villagers, government tussle over bogosi
Mpho Mokwape | Monday March 14, 2022 06:00
The villagers are reportedly irked by the appointment of Kgosana Ketlaareng Lekhutlile as the substantive kgosana for the village when there were no consultations prior to the appointment.
In the latest court proceedings, the villagers, about 53 of them, are opposing the appointment of the kgosana and say for the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to recognise Kgosana Lekhutlile was illegal and needs to be set aside. They have filed a review application seeking for the decision of the minister to be set aside on grounds that there was no compliance with the Bogosi Act, especially Section 22 as there was no consultation with the people of the area. The tribe's attorney, Uyapo Ndadi, on Friday told the High Court that the decision of the minister amounted to illegality because the villagers did not agree with the appointment. He argued that the residents, who are the custodians of who rules them, were never consulted but a name was imposed on them. “The residents of Mmutlane have always complained that they were never consulted. The tribe’s established practice has always been to elect their leadership. Bogosi is not hereditary.
No particular family is entitled to the chieftainship of the village,” he said. Ndadi submitted that the decision deployed by the royal house was wrong as they came up with a pre-determined name without giving the villagers a chance to choose their kgosana and that the minister just went along with the suggested name despite knowing there was resistance from the villagers. He explained that the common denominator should be that there must be reciprocity of ideas, that there must be an exchange of ideas whereby each party’s ideas or opinions are considered and that consultation must be proper and genuine and not a mere formality by a decision maker, in this case, the kgosi and the minister. “The decision of the minister is liable for review because clearly there was no such consultation.
To amount to a consultation in compliance there must have been an invitation to the people of the area to name their preferred candidates. It is now accepted that an election is one of the customary methods by which the views of the community can be ascertained in a consultation under the Act,” he argued. He explained that the villagers’ case was premised on the fact that on December 12, 2019, the villagers were called for a meeting where there was no agenda given out why the meeting was called.
Then Kgosi Felix Kgamane who was presiding at the meeting on the day reportedly told the villagers that the meeting was not long and that it was for the naming of the person who will be ruling Mmutlane. Ndadi submitted that it clearly showed that the meeting was not set to seek the opinion of others as there could never be exchange of ideas if the meeting was cut short and that there was no consultation. “The attendants were clearly not asked to suggest their preferred candidate. But a name was imposed on them. There was no free exchange of ideas. Importantly the decision maker’s mind is already made up before the consultation process.
The calling of the meeting was a mere formality that was not aimed at the reciprocity of ideas.
He pointed out that villagers are all in agreement that there was consultation and that the arguments that bogosi of the village was hereditary was legally incorrect as the tribe has always chosen their leader without blood affiliation to the chieftainship.
Government on one hand believes there was proper consultation and that the minister was right to recognise the kgosana as he was also recognised by the Bangwato Tribal Administration.
State attorney, Rapelang Nkau said there was consultation and that Kgosana Lekhutlile was the rightful heir to the throne as the bogosi of Mmutlane was hereditary. Meanwhile, as per the court documents the village was established in 1910 after the original inhabitants migrated from Serowe. Since then there has been a peaceful exchange of hands in the chieftainship until 2019 when Kgosi Lomatsoga left office. When he left it is said that the villagers experienced succession battles to fill up the vacancy he created leading to the current legal war. Justice Modiri Letsididi will deliver judgement on June 7.