03 May 2022

 Fourteen members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Ceremonial Guard Unit have lost their quest to earn special forces allowance.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) on Friday overturned a High Court ruling which declared the 14 BDF members part of the special forces, subsequently entitling them to special forces allowance.

Handing down the judgment, CoA judge president, Justice Tebogo Tau said the lower court judge had erred in granting the BDF members the relief they sought.

 “The respondents did not prove on a balance of probabilities that they were entitled to the special allowance,” Justice Tau said.

She said the respondents, who were 14 ceremonial guard unit members had admitted during the appeal that they did not perform duties of special forces and such disqualified them.

Justice Tau said the respondents also admitted that they had not been trained in counter-terrorism and that there was nothing in the directive that they could rely on to claim the allowance. 

This, she said, was an indication that they needed additional qualifications in counter-terrorism in order to be eligible to receive the special forces allowance.

She also stated that the respondent’s other argument was that their training was equal to that of commandos, but they did not produce anything to that effect.

 The BDF commander who was the appellant argued that although the respondents were trained in special forces, it was not to the standard of the commandos.

 The commander had also argued that the lower court erred in classifying the applicants and members of special forces, without considering their deployment.

 The 14 members had taken their employer to court seeking a declaration that they were members of the special forces and that they were entitled to special forces allowance.

 They also sought that being members of the special forces, they were entitled to be paid their remunerations in terms of the special forces pay structure and also wanted the employer to pay the cost of the suit.

 The matter was heard by a panel of three judges consisting of Justice Tau and Justices Mercy Garekwe and Lot Moroka. BOPA