Fight to bury father's remains in CKGR relentless
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday July 27, 2022 14:54
The family, led by the deceased’s son Lesiame Pitseng, has been trying to bury their father in the protected Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) where they say he was born and that it was the deceased’s final wish to be buried amongst his ancestors.
However, the government has persistently denied the family permission to allow for the body of Gaoberekwe to be interred in the CKGR.
Their last attempt to see to the deceased’s final wishes was at the High Court where judge Itumeleng Segopolo told the family they had to bury their father outside the game reserve within 10 days or face the wrath of the law.
Now the family, in their pursuit to honour the deceased, wants the CoA bench to come to their rescue as they believe they have every right to bury their father in his ancestral land.
On April 29 through their attorney, Nelson Ramaotwana the family filed a notice with the CoA seeking that the matter be heard to speed up the process of burial of the deceased.
The family feels hard done by the system as they say the High Court was wrong on so many levels to deny them the chance to bury their father where he wished to.
According to the grounds of appeal, the family amongst others pointed out that judge Segopolo was wrong in holding that the deceased was not part of the 29 unrepresented applicants in the Roy Sesana case who at the time challenged their removal from their ancestral land and won the case.
“The judge erred in holding that my father could not benefit from Sesana judgement as a litigant and lawful occupant of CKGR from birth till death. He was wrong to say that only applicants in the Sesana case were entitled to be buried in the CKGR excluding residents of the CKGR like his father,” Pitseng argued.
Pitseng also said that the judge did not apply his mind to the importance of the Constitution which protected the fundamental human rights of him and his family to reside in any part of the country including the CKGR.
The CoA, in response to the family’s plea for the matter to be heard, acknowledged receipt of the family’s communication through the deputy registrar and responded in a letter dated July 22.
“The matter cannot be enrolled in the July 2022 session appeals’ roll as we have already completed the roll for the session and already advertised. As your matter was not brought before the court on urgency, we have to schedule you on the next available date for settlement of record so we pave the way forward for the appeal,” reads the letter.
Meanwhile, the Pitseng family court battle started when the father passed away on December 21, 2021. They wanted to take his remains to the CKGR where they said he resided until his ill health and was moved to New Xade by the Social Services for better medical access.
According to court documents, the family had wanted to bury him there but the Wildlife Department has been against the decision. The back and forth has led to the deceased languishing in a mortuary as the family swears his remains will be buried in the CKGR.