Botswana not to appeal Bushmen victory

THE government of Botswana will not launch an appeal against last week’s historic court ruling that granted the indigenous San or Bushmen to return to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) from which they were forcefully evicted.

The landmark ruling received worldwide attention from media and rights groups. A statement from the Office of President Festus Mogae on Monday noted that after internal consultation, the government has decided to accept the judgement.The Gabarone government has already begun to implement it.According to Attorney General Dr Athalia Molokomme, the 189 individuals listed as applicants in the case would be allowed to enter the CKGR, with their minor children, without permits.The applicants would be required to produce identity documents before they could enter the game reserve but no domestic animals currently outside the CKGR would be permitted.The British rights group Survival International yesterday welcomed the Botswana government decision.Director Stephen Corry said Tuesday, “We are encouraged by the government’s decision not to appeal the ruling, and also by their confirmation that they will seek to apply the spirit of the decision.””It would after all be a huge mistake if the government were advised that the judgement should be applied selectively and unfairly.”Corry said from London, “The Bushmen have the legal right to occupy their ancestral homeland without further harassment.They must be able to live there freely: that means to hunt and gather, keep their small herds of goats and handful of donkeys and horses, cultivate their tiny fields, and use the available water resources.Diamond giant De Beers,which has several diamond mines in Botswana, said it was pleased that the High Court judgement declared that diamonds played no role in the dispute between the First People of the Kalahari and the government.A statement from the Office of President Festus Mogae on Monday noted that after internal consultation, the government has decided to accept the judgement.The Gabarone government has already begun to implement it.According to Attorney General Dr Athalia Molokomme, the 189 individuals listed as applicants in the case would be allowed to enter the CKGR, with their minor children, without permits.The applicants would be required to produce identity documents before they could enter the game reserve but no domestic animals currently outside the CKGR would be permitted.The British rights group Survival International yesterday welcomed the Botswana government decision.Director Stephen Corry said Tuesday, “We are encouraged by the government’s decision not to appeal the ruling, and also by their confirmation that they will seek to apply the spirit of the decision.””It would after all be a huge mistake if the government were advised that the judgement should be applied selectively and unfairly.”Corry said from London, “The Bushmen have the legal right to occupy their ancestral homeland without further harassment.They must be able to live there freely: that means to hunt and gather, keep their small herds of goats and handful of donkeys and horses, cultivate their tiny fields, and use the available water resources.Diamond giant De Beers,which has several diamond mines in Botswana, said it was pleased that the High Court judgement declared that diamonds played no role in the dispute between the First People of the Kalahari and the government.