Botswana's High Court has heard the first Bushman witnesses in their
case against the government tell their harrowing stories of eviction
from their ancestral land.
case against the government tell their harrowing stories of eviction
from their ancestral land.
Tshokodiso Botshilwane from Metsiamenong in the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve gave evidence on 27 and 28 July. He told the court how
government officers arrived in trucks and ordered everyone to move.
He watched helplessly as they dismantled his huts, but refused to
leave the reserve himself, sleeping instead under a tree for many
days. He implied that whatever the statutes said, the Bushmen have
always lived in the CKGR, and said the government of Botswana could
not claim to respect the Bushmen's opinion when their views had not
been taken into consideration. 'I prefer death to relocation,' he
told judges.
Amogelang Segootsane from Gugama described how government officials
had emptied the tank that had held his community's water, leaving
them 'having to rely on desert melons as their source of water.' The
land 'belongs to my forefathers and all my children who were born
there,' he told the court. Segootsane gave evidence on 26 and 27 July.
Motsoko Ramahoko on 30 July described the government officers who
forcibly relocated he and his community from Gope to the resettlement
camp Kauduane as 'arrogant and so vicious that they could even kill a
person.' They told him nobody would give him water if he refused to
move. Kauduane, he said, was noisy, with no job opportunities, and
was full of drunkards. People there had to eat dogs, and HIV/AIDS was
spreading. The government 'removed us from the graves of our
fathers,' he said. He wanted to return to Gope and to be able to hunt
and gather, even without government services like water: 'I want my
land back.'
The Bushmen's case has now been adjourned until November. 'We want
the case to be concluded as soon as possible, so that we can return
to our land,' said a Bushman representative today.
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or
email
mr@survival-international.org
--
Please help the Bushmen in their struggle to return to their
ancestral lands. Click here for more information:
http://www.survival-international.org/bushman_home.htm
Survival International
6 Charterhouse Buildings
London EC1M 7ET
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Fax: (+44) (0) 20 7687 8701
General enquiries: info@survival-international.org
http://www.survival-international.org
Reserve gave evidence on 27 and 28 July. He told the court how
government officers arrived in trucks and ordered everyone to move.
He watched helplessly as they dismantled his huts, but refused to
leave the reserve himself, sleeping instead under a tree for many
days. He implied that whatever the statutes said, the Bushmen have
always lived in the CKGR, and said the government of Botswana could
not claim to respect the Bushmen's opinion when their views had not
been taken into consideration. 'I prefer death to relocation,' he
told judges.
Amogelang Segootsane from Gugama described how government officials
had emptied the tank that had held his community's water, leaving
them 'having to rely on desert melons as their source of water.' The
land 'belongs to my forefathers and all my children who were born
there,' he told the court. Segootsane gave evidence on 26 and 27 July.
Motsoko Ramahoko on 30 July described the government officers who
forcibly relocated he and his community from Gope to the resettlement
camp Kauduane as 'arrogant and so vicious that they could even kill a
person.' They told him nobody would give him water if he refused to
move. Kauduane, he said, was noisy, with no job opportunities, and
was full of drunkards. People there had to eat dogs, and HIV/AIDS was
spreading. The government 'removed us from the graves of our
fathers,' he said. He wanted to return to Gope and to be able to hunt
and gather, even without government services like water: 'I want my
land back.'
The Bushmen's case has now been adjourned until November. 'We want
the case to be concluded as soon as possible, so that we can return
to our land,' said a Bushman representative today.
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or
mr@survival-international.org --
Please help the Bushmen in their struggle to return to their
ancestral lands. Click here for more information:
http://www.survival-international.org/bushman_home.htm Survival International
6 Charterhouse Buildings
London EC1M 7ET
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Fax: (+44) (0) 20 7687 8701
General enquiries:
info@survival-international.org http://www.survival-international.org 
