Court to rule on MP Lelatisitswe�s disputed land

Lebogang Mosikare | Wednesday August 23, 2017 16:07

Moitobi wants the tribunal to declare that he is the rightful owner of the disputed land, which he argues the NLB erred by allocating it to Lelatisitswe.

In the past, the Dikgosi allocated the disputed land to Moitobi’s parents when they were vested with the authority to allocate land to their subjects.

Judgement in the matter will be delivered at a later date that was not stated by the court.

Attorney, Leatile Sengwatse who was representing Lelatisitswe before the land tribunal president, Banister Mokakangwe prayed with the court to quash Moitobi’s application based on two issues.

The first issue, Sengwatse said, is whether the appellant has rights that are registrable to the land in dispute and whether he (appellant) has the requisite authority or permission to prosecute his appeal.

“In addressing the first question, we submit that the appellant does not have grounds to prosecute his appeal because he didn’t produce any evidence before the court showing that he has been in continuous occupation of the disputed land.  For the appellant to prosecute his claim, he should have occupied the land for long periods and not abandoned it as it is the case,” Sengwatse said.

Asked by Mokakangwe when Moitobi last occupied the disputed land, Sengwatse said according to Moitobi’s evidence before court, he last occupied the land in 2001.

Sengwatse added that even during the time Moitobi occupied the land, there were no developments on the land.

“As a result he has abandoned it for more than five years and therefore he can’t apply for it to be registered in his names as a homestead because that is contrary to the policy of the Land Board. We also submit that he has not brought any resolution before court showing that his siblings authorised him to prosecute this appeal,” said Sengwatse.

Sengwatse added that assuming that the tribunal was to rule in Moitobi’s favour, that has the potential to open a Pandora’s box in future because his siblings may claim that the land tribunal erred by granting Moitobi the rights to posses the disputed plot while they have not authorised him by any letter or resolution to own the land.

NLB attorney, Kemmone Lesego had earlier said Moitobi has no claim of right over the contested piece of land because in terms of the Botswana’s Land Policy of 2011 Clause (13) his claim is illegal.

Kemmone said Moitobi last occupied the contested land around 2000 and has long abandoned it hence it was allocated to someone else.

She added that it would not have made any difference if the Land Board found Moitobi occupying the land because he has not accrued rights to occupy the said land.

“No one has the right to stop the Land Board from allocating land that has been abandoned. The appellant has no claim of right over the said land because they were squatting on the land. The said land was also not registered hence the appellant has no right of claim over it,” said Kemmone. Moitobi vigorously disputed what Kemmone and Sengwatse said.

He said that contrary to Sengwatse’s assertion, he last occupied the land in 2011 and not 2001.

Moitobi said he occupied the land in 2011 because he was not staying there permanently, but staying somewhere else hence he could not have been expected to have stayed on the land in question on a full time basis.

“When we stayed at the disputed land, there were some mud huts and kraals. I am wondering how the Land Board allocated the land to someone else. I have brought letters from one of my siblings who has no problem with me to prosecute the matter on behalf of the family.

“Contrary to what Sengwatse said, we have agreed that I should prosecute the matter on behalf of my family although I didn’t produce any document to that effect since there was no need for that,” said Moitobi.

Moitobi added that after his parents passed away in 1999 and 2001, he and his siblings shared their parents’ estate equally among themselves without writing any document or resolution but till today they have never quarrelled about how the estate was divided.

He added: “I am the eldest in the family hence I am expected to take care of my parents’ properties on behalf of my siblings”.