Former BLLAHWU Treasurer in hollow victory
Judge Gaopalelwe Ketlogetswe of Lobatse High Court has ordered that the expulsion of Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) former treasurer, Baone Seloka from the union be reviewed and set aside.
BLLAHWU has been directed to reinstate Seloka to the membership of the union and to pay costs of Seloka’s application. However, Seloka will not return to his treasurer position. “I do not think it would be prudent to order the reinstatement of the applicant to the first respondent’s Central Executive Committee due to passage of time,” reads Ketlogetswe’s judgement delivered this past week.
BLLAWHU will be going for elections in December. If reinstated, Seloka will be in office for only two months because had it not been for the expulsion, he was still expected to leave office this year. Attorneys Paul & Partners dragged BLLAHWU to court in April 2021 demanding the reinstatement of Seloka to his Treasurer position and other various positions he held in the union.
BLLAHWU did not file its answering affidavit and Seloka went on to apply for default judgement. BLLAWHU opposed the default judgement application through its lawyers Ramaotwana Attorneys.
Ketlogetswe has granted the default judgement but it does not carry all that the former Treasurer wanted. Seloka did not want to only be a member of BLLAWHU, he wanted to return to his Treasurer position. The Midweek Sun has gathered that the applicants have extremely been worried that the Judge delayed to give a ruling. In fact, Paul and Partners even wrote to The Registrar of the High Court pleading that Ketlogetswe be reminded to prepare a ruling. The court received the letter on the 13th of July 2022. In his judgement, Ketlogetswe admits that he delayed. “This judgement has been awaiting delivery for an inordinately long time and I wish to tender my apologies to the parties,” the Judge said. Seloka was expelled from the union for instituting an urgent application at Francistown High Court in 2020 seeking orders to nullify the decision of BLLAHWU executive committee to renew Ketlhalefile Motshegwa’s contract as union Secretary General.