The fading third �D�

“Living in dignity must go hand in hand with being treated with dignity.”

Events in Tlokweng in June 2012, in Ramotswa in November 2013 and yesterday in Oodi bear all the hallmarks of a sinister conspiracy by land authorities and policy makers to strip Batswana of their constitutional and presidentially-assured right to dignity. In June 2012, more than 10,200 applicants fought in a raffle for 285 plots, resulting in skirmishes and damage to public property. In November 2013, the same dignity-scarring episode occurred, with police called in to disperse thousands who thronged the Malete Land Board offices to compete for just 300 plots.