Kgosi Mosadi Seboko slams government over Farm Forest Hill matter
KE A DUMEDISA KA PULA!!!After much public interest and support, I find it fitting that I, as Kgosikgolo ya Ga-Malete, personally give an update on our Remainder of Farm Forest Hill 9KO case with Malete Land Board, for which judgment was delivered on May 21, 2021 at the Gaborone Hight Court.
Malete Land Board had taken us to court seeking cancellation of Title Deed 387/1925 to our privatelyowned Kgale Farm, which has belonged to the Tribe for the past ninety-six years. Three High Court judges presided over this matter and unanimously ruled in our favour, that Malete Land Board has no right to the property hence ownership of the farm legally rests with the Tribe. This brought us joy and adulation for the justice served.
Our celebrations were however short-lived, as at the beginning of July 2021 I was served with court documents notifying us that the Attorney General acting on behalf of the State is appealing the decision of the High Court. The matter is therefore set to continue with the Attorney General and Malete Land Board joining forces against us at the Court of Appeal.
I am very disappointed that the Botswana Government, with a supposedly commendable human rights record, is the very one to bully us through the courts to take what belongs to us as a people group.
The State also shows no regard for sections 3 (Fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual) and 8 (Protection from deprivation of property) of the constitution of Botswana, in this shameless pursuit to deprive us of a freehold land whose title has never been in doubt.
The just-ended process has affirmed us as the rightful owner of the property. I must say, I had expected better from the Government, with whom we have always had a common vision. We remain open to collaborative utilisation of this valuable investment from our forefathers. Instead of respecting us as a developmental stakeholder, they are highly motivated to seize the land at all costs. This is a source of great pain. The deadline for court submissions was set for August 12, 2021. We view this rushed decision as a legal ambush, in spite of us not been given the opportunity to engage with our attorneys, both locally and externally nor the muchneeded consultation with the tribe due to the state of public emergency. It is a fact that the remainder of Farm Forest Hill 9KO is the Tribe’s private property, not Kgosi Mosadi Seboko’s asset. As such the Ba GaMalete Tribe must be involved and properly consulted as they are the legal title holders to the said farm.
Current socioeconomic tribulations have dealt the lives of Batswana a significant blow, with basic health and job security far from guaranteed. I therefore find this insatiable appetite for our land appalling, especially with the taxpayer’s money funding the unscrupulous legal costs.
I have dedicated my life to serving this country with humility and submission, and now find myself being persecuted for standing for truth and honour.
My confidence in this Government has been severely eroded by these developments, as I am left wondering if this is a gender-based attack on the woman that I am (because I am a woman) and why my people are being marginalised in this manner.