Court cancels election of Mogotha Kgosana over irregularities
Mpho Mokwape | Monday September 29, 2025 06:00
Justice Lot Moroka found that the election process held on January 13, 2023, was flawed and did not follow proper procedures.
“As a result, the appointment of the Kgosana has been set aside and the seat of Kgosana for Mogotha Ward has been declared vacant,” he said.
The judge delivered the decision on Monday in a case brought by Mothusi Phuthego and Mosotho Phuthego, who challenged the appointment of Baoliki Ofetotse as Kgosana following the death of former Kgosana Kagelelo Leetile for Mogotha in Tewane, a village in the Central District of Botswana located 40 km north of Mahalapye.
According to court documents, the late Kgosana Leetile came from a long line of traditional leaders in Mogotha Ward, and his family had held the position for four generations. When he passed away, his family expected the chieftainship to remain within the family, following what they claimed was an established hereditary custom.
However, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development reportedly arranged a community meeting on January 13, 2023, to select a new Kgosana, where a meeting was and during the meeting, three candidates were suggested being Baoliki Ofetotse, Ganetsang Lepii, and Mogakolodi Gaolekwe.
Justice Moroka agreed that the process had serious irregularities; he said that the meeting did not follow proper procedures and that it was unreasonable to hold the meeting just before the burial of the deceased Kgosana.
“The family of the former Kgosana had a reasonable expectation to be involved in the selection process and should have been given a fair chance to participate,” he said.
The judge also criticised the conduct of the presiding officer, Kgosi Tshipe Tshipe, who introduced a selection criterion during the meeting that clearly favoured one candidate, Baoliki Ofetotse.
He explained that fairness required the criteria for nomination to be announced ahead of time, not during the meeting, stating that the sudden introduction of rules gave an unfair advantage to Ofetotse, whose background had already been described by a speaker in a way that matched the newly introduced criteria.
Justice Moroka further noted that there was no evidence of actual voting taking place and that during the meeting, they were simply counting how many people named each candidate, without a formal voting process, which was not a reliable or legal method of selecting a leader.
He emphasised that, according to the Bogosi Act, the selection of a tribal leader, such as a Kgosana, must follow customary law or established community practices.
“In this case, there was evidence of a customary practice where the position of Kgosana was passed down within the Phuthego-Leetile family. That practice had not been properly considered or respected in the new selection process,” Moroka said. Although the judge agreed with the applicants that the process was flawed, he declined to directly appoint the 1st applicant, Mothusi Phuthego, as Kgosana.
Instead, he ruled that the election process should be repeated fairly and legally, as he left the responsibility of choosing a new Kgosana to the residents of Mogotha Ward.
Justice Moroka’s final order included that the election process held on January 13, 2023, was unlawful and set aside, the recognition and appointment of Baoliki Ofetotse as Kgosana was also set aside, and he awarded the applicants costs of the application.
Meanwhile, the dispute is that, according to the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mpho Morapedi, the Ministry had bestowed Ofetotse after the elections.
According to the judgment, she said the Ministry considered the number of nominations each candidate received, with Ofetotse receiving 17 nominations, while Lepii and Gaolekwe each received nine.
The Minister later approved Ofetotse’s appointment in a letter dated April 20, 2023.
The applicants filed an application arguing that the entire process was improper, saying that no public notice of the meeting was given to the whole community.
They also said that the family of the late Kgosana Leetile was not informed of the meeting and could not attend because they were still in mourning.
“In fact, the meeting took place one day before the funeral of Kgosana Leetile, making it difficult for his family to participate in any leadership discussions,” they argued.
The applicants also claimed that the process was unfair and biased in favour of Ofetotse and that the meeting was supposed to be a consultation, not an election.
Furthermore, they stated that there was no record of actual voting, either by secret ballot or show of hands; instead, the presiding officer, Kgosi Tshipe, announced the result based on the number of verbal nominations made during the meeting.
The judgment has now opened the way for a fresh process to choose a new Kgosana for Mogotha Ward, one that includes the community and respects both custom and the law.