Mineworkers’ relief as Mupane dust settles
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday June 10, 2026 11:29
Botswana Mineworkers Union (BMWU) president, Joseph Tsimako, is a relieved man. In February 2025 on behalf of its frustrated members at Mupane Gold Mine, the Union initiated liquidation proceedings at the country’s sole gold mine and after a lengthy battle amongst rival bidders, are finally nearing closure.
The Court of Appeal (CoA) last week ruled in favour of the Nova Africa consortium and the liquidator, Kopanang Thekiso, over the legal challenges of rival bidder, Ulsan Botswana.
“We welcome the development and we are very happy with the judgement,” the veteran unionist told Mmegi. “What the CoA said is what we have been complaining about as labour, to say that courts, such as the Industrial Court, tend to forget that when someone has gone before them, there are social impacts that affect them.”
A three-man bench of the CoA, presided over by Justice Isaac Lesetedi, had strong words in its ruling about the High Court’s failure to properly weigh the social consequences of dragging out the legal challenges in the liquidation.
“It is quite clear that the court a quo did not give thought to a number of pertinent factors which were put before by the liquidator to have regard to in determining whether the balance of convenience favoured the grant or refusal of the remedy. “Most importantly, it did not consider the welfare of the former employees of Mupane whose livelihoods depended on their income and whose non-payment of wages was, through the court petition of their union, what triggered the placement of Mupane into liquidation,” the judges said.
The CoA said the High Court did not give “thought at all” to the consideration of the cost implications of a drawn-out litigation process resulting from the interim interdict, especially as the liquidation purse was running low.
“Nor did the court a quo consider the possible deterioration of the assets of Mupane occasioned by the further drawn-out litigation and its negative impact on the liquidators.”
Nova and Thekiso have been battling Ulsan since last year, over a creditors’ decision to approve the sale of the country’s sole gold mine to Nova. The battle to take over Mupane raged from last August after the Nova Africa joint venture, with an offer of $21 million, got the greenlight from creditors. Rival joint venture, Ulsan Botswana, offered a an upfront $500,000 and up to P10 million upon further assessment of the mine.
In October, Ulsan secured won a High Court interdict of the award to Nova, claiming several technical irregularities.
That decision meant creditors, estimated to be owed about P345 million, would have to wait longer for resolution on the winning bidder. The BMWU’s members at Mupane are estimated to be owed P49 million in unpaid dues and workers have been in limbo since operations ceased at the northern mine in March 2024.
Bidders first locked horns in a crucial August 2025 creditors meeting where Nova was selected, and then at the High Court, where Ulsan won the interdict. This was followed by a lengthy wait for a Court of Appeal date, during which speculation grew and then faded about possible settlement talks.
Throughout, mineworkers waited with growing unease and a bad case of déjà vu. The BMWU has fresh memories of extended battles such as the BCL saga, in which workers argue they are still owed dues from the closure of the iconic plant nine years ago.
For Tsimako, the CoA decision, in particular, its strong pronouncements on the need for urgent resolution of liquidation and consideration of social impact, is a pivotal moment for the labour movement in the country.
“Besides workers, you need to remember that Mupane is an underground mine and there are people who should be paid on a monthly basis for care and maintenance activities, for dewatering the plant and keeping it safe, all this w while the operation is not making money. “The liquidator gets that money from the creditors but then you only consider people coming from outside the process saying something has not been done right, when it’s the creditors who did not want them to be successful.”
With the CoA decision, the liquidator is now free to resume the sale process with Nova. The judgement could not have been more timely, as gold prices continue at two-year highs, promising quick returns for the potential new owner.
For the former workers, the CoA judgment is a breath of fresh air.
“We are happy with the views of the CoA and the way they spoke in the judgement,” Tsimako said.