Bamalete: Defending land to the death

Friday, January 27, 2023 | 460 Views |

Balete and their Kgosi arriving at the court of apeal PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

For Bamalete, a tribe in the South Eastern part of Botswana, the only compensation for land is land. “Re kampa ra seka 100 years, fa ele sengwe bana ba rona batla tsweledisa fa re feletseng teng (We will opt to continue this legal fight for another 100 years, in the culmination of it all our children will continue where we left off,” uttered one Molete tribesman following a Court of Appeal (CoA) session this week.

He spoke with confidence like he was about to galvanise and spur on every Molete to fight and endure this period as the Bamalete tussle with the government over the lucrative farm known as Forest Hill 9-KO.

He implied that like Petra, a Belgian draft horse, they will pull the hope carriage until a new generation comes on board and continues the crusade perhaps for another century.

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