This report suggested that the record of the pre-independence constitutional talks in London showed that Seretse and Masire had ‘allegedly stated that as heads of the executive they intended to stay out of the realm of appointment of judges and leave that privilege to the Judicial Service Commission.’ It continued ‘ a member of the British Delegation apparently agreed to Khama and Masire’s words responding ‘in essence that in that case, the executive can exercise a formal role of appointment while the JSC can act a more practical role.’ Let’s now consider the importance of this report.
Apart from the particular issue relating to the appointment of judges it is obvious that a record that provides any sort of background to the constitutional talks is of enormous importance. What is so surprising, however, is that it seems to have taken fifty years for many of us to discover that such a record existed in London – although this should hardly come as a surprise to anyone.
