13 Jul 2014

There are no tribes defined in the Tribal Territories Act, says Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr Lebonaamang Mokalake.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Mokalake said the Tribal Territories Act, CAP 32:02 was an act of Parliament serving the purpose of defining tribal territories. 

Therefore, he said the act defined the boundaries and territories of tribes and not the tribes themselves. In his response to question 745 in August 2013, he said then that the Tribal Territories Act was historical and they signified the history upon which the contemporary Botswana was built.

The minister further said they were still relevant in the present for as long as dikgosi and their tribes were relevant in the present day Botswana.

Minister Mokalake said it was for this reason that the act was saved by Parliament through its passing of Bogosi Act in 2008.

Essentially, he said all tribes were catered for in the Tribal Territories Act; therefore, no other Act defines other territories adding that all tribal territories were provided for under the Act.

Member of Parliament for Lobatse, Mr Nehemiah Modubule had wanted to know as to how many tribes were defined in the Tribal Territories Act and how those whose tribes are not mentioned were defined and which Act defines their territories. ENDS