04 Jun 2019

Residents of Seleka village in the Sefhare/Ramokgonami constituency have pleaded with the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Frans van der Westhuizen to implement the high court order that recognised Seleka as a standalone and fully fledged village.

The residents were speaking in a kgotla meeting recently, regarding the issue which they requested their Member of Parliament, Ms Dorcas Makgato to forward to the ministry as they  say the judgment was supposed to have long been implemented as far back as 1995.

Ms Makgato said the issue was officially tabled before her last year December to assist, that is why she invited the minister concerned.

“The purpose of inviting the minister was for him to take it from the horses’ mouths, so that no information is distorted along the way,” she said. 

According to Seleka residents’ representatives Messrs Lazarus Madidimala, Mothobi Matila and Jimmy Modiane, Seleka residents went to the high court to challenge their village being merged with the neighbouring villages of Tupya, Malete and Rasesa. They mentioned that in his ruling, the presiding High Court Judge reached the verdict that Seleka was a village, separate and distinct from the other three.

The judgement said the decision to join Seleka with the three other villages to be  now known as TUMASERA was taken without proper consultation with Seleka residents, as such it was undemocratic, null and void.

“The right to name or rename by whatever name belongs to the residents of that village, in conjunction  with the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, while the other three villages have to remain as they were before, and the name TUMASERA to be strictly used only when referring to the customary court”. 

The court ruling further said the headmen or residents of the three villages individually or collectively had no authority to impose the name TUMASERA upon the residents of Seleka, who are desirous of retaining Seleka as the name of their village  and the respondents jointly or separately pay the cost of this application.

It was also noted that the respondents did not appeal against the ruling. 

Seleka residents’ concern was that they are treated as non-stakeholders and had no share in the manning of TUMASERA Customary Court.

They called upon the ministry to order the people of the three villages to refrain from treating TUMASERA as theirs, noting that it was a customary court that belongs to all the four villages. 

They advised that the residents be advised to return to their traditional courts and pave way for free participation in matters pertaining to activities of this court.

They cited an example that just recently, a headman of records was installed in the kgotla without consulting residents of Seleka. They also requested the minister not to allow Bangwato Tribal Authority Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane to preside over the case as they have realised that he has interest and takes sides. 

They also said they did not have a problem with TUMASERA Customary Court. They want a task force that includes all stakeholders to seriously look into the issues and come up with a solution, looking forward for their village to be awarded a Botswana flag at Seleka Customary Court.

For his part earlier, Mr van der Westhuizen said the government respects court orders and there was no how it could turn a deaf ear to the order.

He said the issue needed consultations with all stakeholders, together with the ministries concerned, to come up with a solution. 

He said the issue was not unique as there were similar ones around the country, including his constituency.

The minister said government was always there to protect Batswana’s interests. 

He said it also had to involve the other three villages as Setswana says molemo wa kgang ke go buiwa, sedibeng go iwa ka tsela gape ntwa kgolo ke ya molomo.

He said government’s intention was to build the nation and provide relevant services wherever people are as a group.

He therefore assured them that he understood their concerns and hoped they would be resolved with their involvement and contribution.  ENDS