REPORT OF THE
WORKING GROUP ON
INDIGENOUS
POPULATIONS/COMMUNITIES
MISSION TO THE
REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA
15 – 23 June, 2005
Abbreviations
ACMHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
ACRWC African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child
AG Attorney General
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AU African Union
BCC Botswana Council of Churches
BOCONGO Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations
CA Court of Appeal
CAT Convention Against Torture
CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
CERD Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CGSARPA Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa
CJ Chief Justice
CKGR Central Kalahari Game Reserve
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child
FPK First People of the Kalahari
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ILO International Labour Organisation
KFO Kuru Family of Organizations
MFAIC Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
MISA Media Institute of Southern Africa
MLG Ministry of Local Government
MP Member of Parliament
NGO Non – Governmental Organization
O.P- ICCPR Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
OAU Organisation for African Unity
PS Permanent Secretary
RAD Remote Area Dwellers
RADP Remote Area Development Programme
SADC Southern African Development Community
SGL Special Game Licenses
UB/SBRP University of Botswana San-Basarwa Research Project
UN United Nations
WGIP Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities
WMA Wildlife Management Area
Acknowledgements
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) wishes to express its appreciation to the government of the Republic of Botswana for inviting its Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities to visit the country.
The Commission is grateful to the authorities for their hospitality and support during the period of the mission. A special note of appreciation is extended to the government officials who found time to meet with the delegation of the Working Group of the African Commission in spite of their busy schedule.
The Commission would also like to extend its appreciation to the civil society organisations that assisted it to organise the mission and would in particular like to thank Ms Alice Mogwe of Ditshwanelo, Mr. Molefe Rantsudu of the University of Botswana - San Research Project and Mr. Mathambo Ngakaeaja of the Working Group on Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) – Botswana Chapter.
Table of contents
Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………2
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………….…3
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………...4
Map of Botswana………………………………………………………………………..….6
General Introduction………………………………………………………………….……7
Preparation of Mission…………………………………………………………….…..…....8
Terms of Reference of Mission……………………………………………………………..8
Republic of Botswana – Brief History………………………….…………………………...9
The Peoples of Botswana .…………………………………………………………………9
Rise of Tswana Domination………………………………………………………………10
Geography……………………………..…………………………………………………10
Administration……………………………………………………………………………11
International Human Rights Obligations………………………………………….….…...11
Previous Missions…………………………………………………………………………12
Indigenous Populations in Botswana……………………………………………..……….12
The Basarwa and the Relocation from the CKGR…………………………..…………….13
Meetings held during the Mission…………………………………………………..……..13
· Meeting with Gaborone-based NGOs……………………………………….……13
· Observation of the Court Case……………………………………………………16
· Meeting with the University of Botswana San-Basarwa Research Project………….17
· Meeting with the Attorney General………………………………………………..20
· Meeting with the Special Adviser to the President……………………………...….21
· Meeting with the Ombudsman of Botswana…………………………………..…..22
· Combined meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation and the Ministry of Local
Government ……………………………………………………………………...23
· Meeting with residents of Kaudwane……………………………………………...30
· Meeting with residents of Kagumma……………………………………………....32
· Meeting with NGOs at Ghanzi…………………………………………………....34
· Meeting with Residents of West and East Hanahai……………………………..…37
· Meeting with residents of New !Xade…………………………………………….39
· Meeting with the Law Society of Botswana………………………………………..42
· Combined meeting with Government Officials……………………….…………...42
Analysis and observations by the delegation………………………………………………43
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………….50
Recommendations………………………………………………………………….……..51
Map of Botswana
Map courtesy www.zambezi.co.uk
1. Introduction
1.1 The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACMHPR or the African Commission) was established in 1987 in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR or the African Charter). It is a human rights treaty body charged with the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa.
1.2 The African Charter was adopted by the 18th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union, (AU) in Nairobi, Kenya on 26 June, 1981. Upon the deposit of the requisite instruments of ratification, the Charter came into force on 21 October, 1986 and the first members of the African Commission were elected at the 23rd Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in June 1987. The inaugural meeting of the African Commission was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 1987.
1.3 Article 45 of the African Charter provides for the mandate of the African Commission and this includes the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights, interpretation of the African Charter and undertaking any other task assigned to it by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
1.4 In terms of Article 45 (1) of the Charter, the promotional mandate of the Commission shall include inter alia, collecting documents, undertaking studies and research on African problems in the field of human and peoples’ rights, organising seminars, symposia and conferences, disseminating information, encouraging national and local institutions concerned with human and peoples’ rights, and should the case arise, giving its views and making recommendations to governments; formulating and laying down principles and rules aimed at solving legal problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms upon which African governments may base their legislation; cooperating with other African and international institutions concerned with the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights.
1.5 To execute the mandate in Article 45 (1), the African Commission has initiated a number of measures, including the establishment of Special Mechanisms/Working Groups.[1] These mechanisms undertake promotional as well as fact-finding missions to Member States of the African Union during the intersession period of the African Commission and submit their reports to the African Commission during its ordinary sessions for consideration and adoption.
1.6 It is in this light that the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities (WGIP or the Working Group) undertook a mission to the Republic of Botswana from 15 – 23 June 2005. This was the first such mission to be undertaken by the Working Group since its establishment in 2003.
2. Preparation of the Mission
2.1 The Secretariat of the African Commission began exchanging Notes Verbales with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Botswana regarding the mission in November 2004. In May 2005, the government of the Republic of Botswana officially agreed to the African Commission’s request for its Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities to visit the country.
2.2 In consultation with the Secretariat of the African Commission, a draft programme for the mission was prepared by the Office of the President of the Republic of Botswana. The programme was finalised with contributions from local NGOs on the arrival of the delegation in Botswana.
2.3 The delegation of the Working Group comprised:
- Commissioner Andrew Ranganayi Chigovera – Member of the African Commission and Chairperson of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities; and
- Dr. Naomi Kipuri – Member of the Working Group.
2.4 The Mission was supported by Mr. Robert Eno, Legal Officer of the Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
3. Terms of Reference/Purpose of the Mission
3.1 One of the tasks of the terms of reference of the WGIP is to gather information on the situation of indigenous populations/communities in the respective states of the African Union, and to examine the legislative, constitutional and other provisions and mechanisms put in place to promote and protect the rights of indigenous populations. To this end, the African Commission has mandated the WGIP to undertake research, studies and country visits within Member States of the AU.
3.2 The general aim of the mission was therefore to execute the mandate of the WGIP and of the African Commission. The specific objectives of the mission were inter alia, to:
- verify allegations of maltreatment and violation of the human rights of the Basarwa community;
- gather information on the situation of indigenous populations in Botswana;
- engage the government of the Republic of Botswana in dialogue on the situation of indigenous populations, in particular, and its relationship with the African Commission, as a whole;
- engage civil society on its role in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous populations in Botswana; and
- visit and discuss with indigenous communities to understand the problems, if any, affecting the effective enjoyment of their human rights.
4. The Republic of Botswana – a brief history
4.1 Between the 1880s and its independence in the 1960s, Botswana was a poor and peripheral British Protectorate known as Bechuanaland. In 1885, the British government declared Bechuanaland a protectorate, at the request of local rulers who wished to deter encroachment by Boers from the Transvaal in South Africa.
4.2 The British government continued to regard the protectorate as a temporary expedient, until it could be handed over to Rhodesia or, after 1910, to the new Union of South Africa. Hence, the administrative capital of Bechuanaland remained at Mafeking (Mafikeng), outside the protectorate's borders in South Africa, from 1895 until 1964.
4.3 From the latter part of the 1950s on, it became clear that Bechuanaland could no longer be handed over to South Africa and must be developed towards political and economic self-rule. A legislative council was set up in 1961 after limited national elections.
4.4 After long resistance to constitutional progress, the British began to push political change in 1964. A new administrative capital was rapidly built at Gaborone. Bechuanaland became self-governing in 1965, under an elected Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government with Seretse Khama as Prime Minister. In 1966 it attained full independence and became a Republic with Sir Seretse Khama as its first President.
5. The People of Botswana
5.1 With a total population of about 1.6 million people (July 2004), Botswana is composed of the following ethnic groups - Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, others, including Kgalagadi and white, 7%.
5.2 No accurate records exist of the first ever inhabitants of Botswana, although tool fragments and other evidence of human activity have been uncovered which are thought to be around 27,000 years old. The Basarwa, also known as San or Bushmen, are believed to be among the first recognised people to inhabit the country.
5.3 The 17th century brought the Tswana from the south, a Bantu people related to the Sotho of Transvaal and Lesotho. The Tswana now make up over 70% of Botswana's population and the remaining peoples have been heavily absorbed into the Tswana culture.
5.4 Apart from the San, other minority tribes include the 25,000 Mbanderu, cousins of the Namibian Herero tribe who fled Namibia following the German conquest in the 1890s and early 1900s. The largest minority is the Kalanga tribe, related to the Karanga-Rozwi from Zimbabwe, thought to be the constructors of the Great Zimbabwe ruins.
5.5 The Bayei and the Hambukushu were the original inhabitants of the Okavango Delta. Both tribes moved south in the 18th century to escape Lozi tribal oppression in Zambia. Traditional fishermen, they are responsible for introducing the wooden mokoro, or canoe, which is still seen in some areas of the Delta today. They fished mainly in the shallow water areas and poled their mekoro with long sticks called ngashis. They also hunted in large groups for hippo using spears. The Hambukushu moved south a little later and fished mainly in the deeper waters using paddles to maneuver their mekoro. They relied more on the soil for sustenance than the Bayei.
6. Rise of Tswana domination
6.1 During the 1200 -1400 period, a number of powerful dynasties began to emerge among the Sotho in the Western Transvaal, spreading their power in all directions. Fokeng chiefdoms spread southwards over Southern Sotho peoples, while Rolong chiefdoms spread westwards over Khalagari peoples. Khalagari chiefdoms either accepted Rolong rulers or moved westwards across the Kalahari, in search of better hunting and the desirable large cattle of the west.
6.2 By the 17th century, Rolong-Khalagari power stretched as far as Mbandu country across the Central Namibia/Botswana frontier. In the 1660s the military and trading power of the main Rolong kingdom at Taung (south of Botswana), in conflict with Kora groups of southern Khoi over copper trade, was known as far away as the new Dutch settlers at the Cape of Good Hope.
6.3 The main Tswana (Central Sotho) dynasties of the Hurutshe, Kwena and Kgatla were derived from the Phofu dynasty, which broke up in its western Transvaal home in the 1500-1600 period. Oral traditions usually explain these migrations as responses to drought, with junior brothers breaking away to become independent chiefs. The archaeology of the Transvaal shows that the farming population was expanding and spreading in small homesteads, each clustered round its cattle corral, across open countryside - with a few larger settlements as evidence of petty chiefdoms. But after about 1700 the settlement pattern changed, with stone-walled villages and some large towns developing on hills - evidence of the growth of states often hostile to each other.
7. Geography
7.1 Botswana is a land-locked country in south-central Africa, bounded by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Most of the country is desert, with the Kalahari Desert occupying the west region. The east is hilly, with salt lakes in the north-east. In the north-west lays the huge Okavango Delta, an immense oasis containing abundant wildlife.[2]
8. Administration
8.1 Botswana is divided into 9 Administrative Districts with 4 Town Councils. The Districts include - Central, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southern, and the Town Councils include - Francistown, Gaborone, Lobatse and Selebi-Pikwe.
9. International human rights obligations
9.1 The Republic of Botswana is a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It ratified the African Charter on 17 July 1986. Botswana is also a party to several international human rights instruments, including:
- The OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (CGSARPA);