Tumasera dispute comes to an end

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday March 16, 2012 00:00

Setumo said the Tswapong South village would not be part of Tupya, Malete and Rasesa, collectively known as Tumasera.Mahalapye sub-district commissioner, Monyakeng, told the people of Seleka on Monday that government is implementing the court order.

The villagers heard that their kgotla and headman will be elevated. The kgotla will sport the national flag. The tribal office will also have police officers, a clerk, a village stamp, and other facilities befitting a village.In 1995 Justice Gyeke-Dako ruled that Seleka is a village separate and distinct from Tupya, Malete and Rasesa, and as such entitled to retain its name and identity. The court also ruled that the decision to include Seleka jointly alongside Tumasera, was taken without proper consultation with Seleka residents and as such is undemocratic and null and void.

The court also ordered that the right to name or rename a village belongs to the residents of that village in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs.Justice Dako also ruled that the headmen or residents of Tupya, Malete and Rasesa individually or collectively have no authority to impose the name Tumasera upon the residents of Seleka.

Tumasera residents have immediately sent a delegation to Gaborone to petition President Ian Khama over government's stance in the matter. On Tuesday a five-man delegation of Tumasera elders led by Kgosi Letlhohonolo Gaotlhobogwe of Malete and Tumasera Village Development Committee chair, Tshireletso Motshabi petitioned Khama.

On Tuesday night, some Gaborone-based natives of Tumasera met with Tswapong South Member of Parliament, Oreeditse Molebatsi at a house in Phase II, who told them that he was also shocked by the decision of the Mahalapye sub-district. He pleaded with them to be patient as they await Khama's response.Setumo would not comment on Molebatsi's reaction to the decision communicated to Seleka villagers by the Mahalapye sub-district commissioner.

Meanwhile, Tumasera residents who have been meeting at a yard in Phase II, Gaborone for three days said they would be meeting again today to chart the way forward. They have also been to Btv to demand a retraction and apology. They further want government to apologise publicly for the announcement.Fuming youth declared at the Phase II gathering that all hell would break loose should government go ahead with the implementation of the court order.