Judicial crisis worries BCP
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday October 18, 2022 06:00
BCP has over the years been releasing the Democracy Alert issue and the first issue of 2022 released recently is meant to tackle judicial independence.
Last month, Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe claimed that Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane and the Minister of State, Kabo Morwaeng allegedly tried to influence him to rule against Lobatse legislator, Thapelo Matsheka in a case in which he sought freedom from prolonged detention.
Recently, another bombshell was dropped when Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Bamalete revealed that President Mokgweetsi Masisi interfered with the Judiciary in the Malete Land Board vs. the Balete tribe in the Forest Hill 9KO farmland case.
BCP president, Dumelang Saleshando told journalists on Thursday that they had long prepared Democracy Alert before Kgosi Seboko’s assertions about Masisi. “It’s like Kgosi Seboko knew about our Democracy Alert but she didn’t, so this goes on to show that our party can foresee these things. The BCP raises essential concerns at all times,” Saleshando revealed.
He said their issues aim to educate the nation about important matters. He added an informed nation is better than one which is in the dark. Saleshando pointed out that as an opposition party their role is to do some checks and balances to keep government focused.
The Maun West legislator emphasised that the three arms of government, which include the Judiciary, should be independent. “In Botswana, there is no separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislature so the Judiciary had been the only independent body until recently,” Saleshando said. He added there have always been flaws in the Judiciary like the appointment of judges.
“These judges are loyal to the President, so their appointment is already compromised and has too much political interference,” he said. He added as the Constitution is reviewed a lot has to be done to make sure that the Judiciary becomes independent. Saleshando indicated that the Judiciary should be the go-to for people who have their rights violated.
“At the moment we have many incidents which show that our Judiciary is far from being autonomous,” he further expressed. He revealed that in the past the BCP released these Democracy Alert issues and in the end, it always showed that the party was right to do so.
“One such example is the famous Basarwa in the (Central Kalahari Game Reserve) CKGR issue where the High Court in their judgement reflected some of the issues the BCP had raised in the Democracy Alert at the time,” Saleshando said.