The Society has announced that the examinations will be held from October 26 to 30, 2026, following the judgment of the High Court in the matter between Arnold Rapula Somolekae and Others, and the LSB. The legal battle had halted the commencement of the examinations. LSB’s announcement comes as the GUC graduates, led by Somolekae, pursue an appeal against Justice Godfrey Nthomiwa’s September 1, 2026 judgment. The ruling by the judge has dismissed the graduates’ application challenging the LSB’s decision to bar them from sitting for the examinations.
On May 29, the LSB rejected the graduates’ application saying that after considering the documentation submitted, including the graduates’ degree certificates and transcripts, the Society was not satisfied that they had obtained, by examination conducted by the issuing university, a qualifying law degree from a prescribed university. The GUC graduates’ appeal puts the controversy back before the courts. It comes at a time when the dispute has evolved from a fight over 21 examination places into a wider legal battle over who controls entry into Botswana’s legal profession, the limits of the Law Society’s regulatory powers and the status of the Leeds Beckett University-GUC law programme. Under the new LSB examination notice, candidates will sit for seven papers namely, Accounting for Lawyers, Administration of Estates, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Ethics, Conveyancing and Notarial Practice. The LSB has stated that only candidates who registered in April 2026 and are eligible to sit for the examinations in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act will be allowed to write. The Society has also cautioned prospective candidates that passing the examinations does not automatically guarantee admission as legal practitioners, as candidates must satisfy other statutory requirements.
