Decades of Basarwa persecution :: Mmegi Online

On March 27, 1996 two Basarwa activists Roy Sesana and the late John Hardbattle brought their persecution to the attention of the United Nations (UN). Ten years later Basarwa won a landmark victory when the Lobatse High Court ruled that Basarwa were “wrongfully and unlawfully and without their consent” evicted from their ancestral homelands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). Staff Writer OARABILE MOSIKARE speaks to prominent Basarwa advocate Gordon Bennett who was put on a ‘visa list’ about three years ago

The British human rights advocate says in 2002 the government arbitrarily withdrew services from the CKGR to make Basarwa vacate the area against their will. “This was an abuse of power.

If the government now intends to restore some of these services, it needs to show the Bushmen (Basarwa) and the Botswana public that it will not do the same again. It should agree that in future it can terminate services only on reasonable notice and for proper reasons, and that the Bushmen should be able to challenge these reasons before an independent tribunal. This is the only basis on which the government can hope to rebuild the Bushmens’ trust and confidence,” says Bennett.

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