Ngamiland wars: Wayeyi reprimand Hambukushi
Tefo Pheage | Friday March 11, 2016 13:26
The Hambukushu’s views were also shared by Batawana who have notified Kgosi Tawana Moremi that they wanted to see the minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Slumber Tsogwane in relation to his meetings with the Wayeyi.
In the missive to Khama, Wayeyi say they are shocked by the letter since they have always been of the view that they agree on issues. Bayei in their letter to the President say: “what Hambukushu are saying is what they [Wayeyi] have always advocated for in our submissions to the government and various United Nations bodies for the past 17 years.
“It is also what the judgment in our High Court case stated in 2001, namely that: (1) The Chieftainship Act is discriminatory and it should be amended; (2) the applicants should be recognised and have their chief in the House of Chiefs (3) all non-Tswana tribes should be recognised (4) any law that may impede this recognition and is discriminatory against certain tribes should be amended - including the Tribal Territories Act (TTA) and sections 77 to 79 of the Constitution. This is what the Hambukushu letter appears to echo - so we are in concert - singing from the same hymn book.”
The letter further says in response to the 2001 court ruling, the government reviewed the Chieftainship Act resulting in the Bogosi Act of 2008 which provides room for the recognition of previously non-recognised tribes following an application route. Sections 77 to 79 of the Constitution were amended to increase the number of representatives in Ntlo ya Dikgosi from 12 to 35.
“Now the government is moving another step closer to recognising all of Botswana’s tribes, beginning with the Basubiya. We view these actions as progress following an evolutionary approach to change, which we fully embrace.”
The letter also touched the specific land issue and the concerns that the Hambukushu raise of recognition of the Wayeyi resulting in the Wayeyi being allocated exclusive tribal territory. They posit that the Wayeyi challenge to the TTA was not fully pursued in the court case; thus the non-Tswana speakers could not claim group rights to land on the basis of the Wayeyi case but rather on human rights principles.
“All Batswana have individual rights to land, as recognised in the Tribal Land Act. Rather, the bone of contention are group rights to land, which are perceived to be accorded to the Tswana tribes by virtue of the Tribal Territories Act only providing for eight (8) tribal territories, and hence discriminatory.”
They further say in 2008/09, the Minister of Local Government declared Chobe a District to no longer be administered from the North West District Council, but a separate administrative unit, not belonging to any one particular tribe.
“The Basubiya were recognised as a tribe and their kgosi on December 21, 2015 without any bearing on other tribes which exist in Chobe including Wayeyi, Hambukushu, Basarwa and others. Similarly, the forthcoming recognition of the Wayeyi or any other tribe will not have a bearing on any other tribe,” the Wayeyi charged.
Bayeyi say they get the impression that the Hambukushu want to handle the issue of land, before the issue of recognition or that they consider that the issue of land should determine the issue of recognition.
“Secondly, they seem to assume that the Wayeyi court judgment provides for a tribal territory for each tribe to be recognised. Thirdly, they seem to assume that it is the duty of one tribe to negotiate land with another tribe. These assumptions, if so held, are incorrect,” they posit.
Their approach, they explained, has always been to request what the law now grants to non-Tswana tribes (under the new Bogosi Act). That is the recognition of tribe and their chief and then the government could put in place any necessary land reforms as deemed fit.
“No single tribe can decide on land reform on its own in a multi-ethnic district, characteristic of all districts. It is rather government prerogative, in consultation with all Batswana if land is the issue they want to address at that point in time.
Suggesting that tribes should consult one another to discuss tribal land issues is a recipe for conflict and we have always been opposed to anything that would lead to strife between different tribes.”
According to the Wayeyi, since the government has recognised one tribe in a multi-ethnic district in which the Hambukushu are also residents, “there is no reason why the government should not do so in Ngamiland or indeed in any other district”.
“The recognition of the Wayeyi is not a threat to the Hambukushu or any tribe but should serve as an encouragement for them to apply, as the Wayeyi did, for their own recognition under the Bogosi Act.”
They further say the Hambukushu should apply for recognition - and follow the Bogosi Act of 2008 and identify their chief and their capital.
Other tribes, they advise, should be encouraged to apply in the same vein as they did and any consultations should begin as soon as they submit.
Shifting their swords to the government they say they should be recognised as scheduled since the consultation process has now been completed, and their chief should reside at Gumare, their capital. “Government should embark on an overall land reform process as a resource and a poverty alleviation strategy for the country,” they argue. They advise other Ngamiland tribes that the recognition of Botswana’s different tribes is not about creating divisions. But instead, as stated in Vision 2016 and by the UN Special Representative on Culture in her 2014 visit, “building a united and proud nation based on the equal recognition and acknowledgment of all its various communities and the different riches they have to offer”.
Wayeyi leaders confirmed delivering the letter to the Office of the President on March 3, 2016.