Now Sesana fights government
Tefo Pheage | Monday August 15, 2016 18:00
Sesana confirmed the arrest of his son to The Monitor on Friday and shared on the incident: “It is true that my son Tshoganetso was among the arrested people. I visited him at the detention centre where I demanded answers over his arrest. I was told they have been charged with poaching.”
Sesana, who was recently employed by the government as a CKGR Project coordinator, declined to comment further on the matter, saying they have engaged a lawyer to wrestle the state on the case.
“We have a lawyer who is handling the case. He is not only representing my son but others as well,” he said.
The area councillor, Bashi Thiite attacked the government for starving Basarwa and pushing them to commit criminal activities.
“The long-awaited project of the three ministers to restore services to CKGR is yet to take off since announcement.
We are still living in poverty and all these alleged criminal activities should be tied to our struggle to stay out of poverty,” he charged. Survival International (SI) an ally of Basarwa issued a statement condemning the arrest, particularly in reference to the government’s position on hunting and Basarwa.
“A lot has been said on the Bushmen’s right to live and hunt for food in their ancestral land in the CKGR, a right that has been recognised and emphasised by the courts of law.
Despite this, the government continues to label Basarwa as “poachers” and is now using advanced military technology to persecute them and their way of life.
This militarisation of conservation efforts reflects a global trend which has concerned many human rights campaigners,” said SI.
“It has led to a situation in which the Bushmen are accused of ‘poaching’ because they hunt to feed their families and face arrest and beatings, torture and death, while big game trophy hunters are encouraged,” SI further posited.