Hawkers Push Back Against GH Eviction
Thalefang Charles | Monday May 25, 2020 15:07
Hawkers found GH had taken advantage of the (COVID-19) coronavirus-induced lockdown to forcibly evict them in absentia. About 30 hawkers operating adjacent to GH premises who found they were evicted in absentia are now pushing back.
The hotel owners had in the cover of the lockdown destroyed dozens of stalls at the deserted Gaborone Bus Rank and fenced in a piece of disputed land around the property that hawkers have occupied for decades. GH further sent a stern message of ‘You’re unwanted here’ with prickly pears and other cacti planted to ward off any humans.
The hawkers returned to their hustle grounds on Thursday marking the end of Phase Three of the COVID-19 extreme social distancing, only to be greeted by a sad heap of wrecked stalls cordoned off by a shiny mesh wire guarded by the cacti.
By Friday, after some unsuccessful lengthy meetings to find a way forward, some hawkers literally took the matter into their own hands and took down the fence.
One of the hawkers, Batsweletse ‘King Can’ Mogabala was resolute in his fight for economic freedom.
“I have been operating here for 23 years, making honest income to feed my family. These new owners of GH have been fighting us for years. So just like he came in our absence to destroy our property, we are removing his fence and if they arrest us, they can (go ahead and) arrest us. We are prepared for anything,” he defiantly said.
Mogabala spoke with sheer determination and conviction that could be likened to Nelson Mandela’s 1964 Rivonia Trial speech famously called ‘I Am Prepared to Die’.
Benjamin Ditlhare, an outspoken fellow who was just as fearless, joined him. Together, with other brave street vendors, they teamed up and brought down the fence, cutting it with pliers until a platoon of officers from Borakanelo Police Station brandishing rubber-bullet guns arrived at the scene to stop them.
Mogabala and Ditlhare were given a heroic send-off by other hawkers as they were taken to the police station to talk the matter over with the hotel owner.
Managing director at Gaborone Hotel, Bipin Awasthi, a naturalised Motswana of Indian origin who bought the hotel from Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) in 2004, admitted that the lockdown gave him an opportunity to get back his land that he legally acquired.
“We have been begging these hawkers to move for more than six years now and they are not moving,” he said in an interview.
“In 2017 we requested the hawkers to move, but they requested three months’ stay. Their association called Thusang Bagwebi represented them. When the three months elapsed in December 2017, they requested an extension saying that December is their peak month. We still gave them more time, but after that they just ignored our request letters.”
He stated that the entire land between the paved walkway and GH screen wall belongs to the hotel. Awasthi added that they were still drawing plans for the land, but do not have anything concrete yet.
At the time of going to press, Awasthi could not produce the documents showing the exact details of the extension from the city’s land allocation authority.
Hawkers on the other hand said they find it hard to trust GH management because of their past experience in their dealings with the company management. They cited a case where they said they were deceived to move from the west-side of the hotel. Hawkers said GH reasoned that they should temporarily move while they pave the area for vendors, but after the paving was completed they were slapped with steep and unaffordable rental charges.
Police on Saturday charged and detained at least five Bus Rank hawkers after they completely removed the fence erected by GH.
According to information from Borakanelo police at the Gaborone Station, they are facing a charge of malicious damage to property. Police sources also revealed the GH owner is also facing a charge of contravening the COVID-19 regulations for erecting the fence during the lockdown.
Gaborone City mayor Father Maphongo, who prides himself in advocating for small businesses and citizen economic empowerment, said he was aware of the matter even though it has not yet reached his office.
“This matter needs objectivity to be amicably resolved. Right now we do not have the full details of the land in dispute, the dimensions and date of allocation. You should know that the Department of Lands is the one responsible for land allocation. And though we do not encourage hawkers to squat at others’ property, we also have a responsibility to support and work with the city’s street vendors,” Maphongo said.
Leading human rights lawyer, Tshiamo Rantao gave his legal opinion on the matter.
“There can be little doubt that the owner of GH acted unlawfully by effectively evicting the hawkers without a court order. That is called self-help. In removing the fence without a court order, the hawkers acted within the law,” Rantao said.
“It’s called counter-spoliation. The fact that the owner may have rights over the property is irrelevant in law, and so is the colour of his skin. The owner ought to have approached court for relief, and he sat on his rights since 2017 at least. Whether or not the hawkers have any licences is also neither here nor there.”