Botswana Bushmen worried if they can all return to Kalahari reserve

LEADERS of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen in Botswana who won a court ruling last week allowing them to return to their ancestral land in the Kalahari have completed a visit to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) and the resettlement camps of their evicted people, where they had triumphant receptions.

“Everywhere we went people were singing and dancing because the court has said we can go home,” said Roy Sesana, leader of the organisation First People of the Kalahari (FPK). “Everyone is filled with joy and hope that the Botswana government will work with us to make the court decision a reality.This court case has been a thorn in our side for a long time, and at last the thorn has been pulled out.We are going home now,” Sesana added.The Government in Botswana had the right to appeal the high court ruling but said it would not do so.Hundreds of Bushmen or San people were evicted from the game reserve – the land they had lived on for thousands of years – in 1997 and again in 2002,.But the FPK is worried about the statement issued by the Government on the matter, which mentioned that only the 189 applicants that brought the case before the high court could go back.A number of other applicants were not represented but were still parties to the action.The 189 San representatives on the list brought their claim on behalf of themselves and also on behalf of all other persons with the same interest, the organisation said in a press release.”The court upheld our argument that Section 14 of the constitution gives the right to us, ‘the Bushmen’, to reside in the CKGR.The right given by the constitution was given to all of us, not only some of us,” FPK said.”The constitutional ruling has confirmed the rights of other ‘Bushmen’ who are in the same position as the applicants.This means that every one of us can now enter and remain in the CKGR without a permit.It is irrelevant whether we appear on the list of the 189 names.”If the government will not accept this, we might have to go back to the court.We do not want this,” the organisation said.Two of the three judges who issued the ruling said that the reserve was created not just to conserve wildlife but to provide a home for the Bushmen as long as they wanted to remain there.The Botswana government this week said that no livestock can be allowed inside the CKGR.The country’s game reserve regulations however stipulate that anyone “can enter a game reserve riding a horse, camel or donkey.”In an emergency, horses and donkeys owned by the San were their only means of transport, the FPK pointed out.At the time of the 2002 evictions the Botswana government decided to completely prohibit hunting in the game reserve.All three of the judges ruled last week that this decision was unlawful, and two of them held that it was unconstitutional as well.One judge ruled that the government prohibition had condemned the ancient people to die of starvation, and had violated their right to life.The judges ruled that the Bushmen must be allowed to hunt in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.”Everyone is filled with joy and hope that the Botswana government will work with us to make the court decision a reality.This court case has been a thorn in our side for a long time, and at last the thorn has been pulled out.We are going home now,” Sesana added.The Government in Botswana had the right to appeal the high court ruling but said it would not do so.Hundreds of Bushmen or San people were evicted from the game reserve – the land they had lived on for thousands of years – in 1997 and again in 2002,.But the FPK is worried about the statement issued by the Government on the matter, which mentioned that only the 189 applicants that brought the case before the high court could go back.A number of other applicants were not represented but were still parties to the action.The 189 San representatives on the list brought their claim on behalf of themselves and also on behalf of all other persons with the same interest, the organisation said in a press release.”The court upheld our argument that Section 14 of the constitution gives the right to us, ‘the Bushmen’, to reside in the CKGR.The right given by the constitution was given to all of us, not only some of us,” FPK said.”The constitutional ruling has confirmed the rights of other ‘Bushmen’ who are in the same position as the applicants.This means that every one of us can now enter and remain in the CKGR without a permit.It is irrelevant whether we appear on the list of the 189 names.”If the government will not accept this, we might have to go back to the court.We do not want this,” the organisation said.Two of the three judges who issued the ruling said that the reserve was created not just to conserve wildlife but to provide a home for the Bushmen as long as they wanted to remain there.The Botswana government this week said that no livestock can be allowed inside the CKGR.The country’s game reserve regulations however stipulate that anyone “can enter a game reserve riding a horse, camel or donkey.”In an emergency, horses and donkeys owned by the San were their only means of transport, the FPK pointed out.At the time of the 2002 evictions the Botswana government decided to completely prohibit hunting in the game reserve.All three of the judges ruled last week that this decision was unlawful, and two of them held that it was unconstitutional as well.One judge ruled that the government prohibition had condemned the ancient people to die of starvation, and had violated their right to life.The judges ruled that the Bushmen must be allowed to hunt in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.