LSB bid to block SA FMD expert lawyer fails

In a ruling delivered at the High Court this week, Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe declared that the Society’s challenge was “misconceived”. Ketlogetswe dismissed with costs the LSB’s urgent application seeking to rescind his July 30 order admitting Advocate Reginald Willis to practise in Botswana on an ad hoc basis. Willis, a South African advocate, had been brought into the country to represent JS Beef (Proprietary) Limited and Primefast (Proprietary) Limited in an urgent application against the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Kobedi Segale, Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Edwin Dikoloti and the Attorney General.

The underlying dispute concerns the government’s handling and management of FMD, an issue the Chief Justice described as one of undeniable public importance given its implications for Botswana’s cattle industry, beef exports and the wider economy. At the heart of the LSB’s challenge was its contention that Willis should not have been admitted without giving the Society a proper opportunity to oppose his admission.But in his ruling Ketlogetswe rejected the argument and found that the LSB had been notified as required by law and was not a necessary party to the application.