‘Class action’ ruling stalls retired soldiers’ pension lawsuit

A class action is a legal proceeding in which one or more plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group, known as the class. In 2019 many retired soldiers launched a lawsuit against the BDF’s decision to move their Pension Fund to a new pension scheme in terms of the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF), a decision that they were not pleased with. They accused the government of forced transfer.

The defendants in the matter are the Attorney General, the BDF and the Ministry of Defence and Security. On Tuesday this week, the parties met before Justice Michael Leburu of the Gaborone High Court for final case management before the matter started and the defendants’ attorney Advocate Sidney Pilane requested the judge to explain why he ruled that the lawsuit was a class action.