29 Oct 2013

When government took an initiative to establish the second land tribunal in Palapye, Mr Phetsolo Nare proved to be the right man for the job.

He became the first president of Palapye Land Tribunal in 2005, a position he’s still holding to date. Having served as a magistrate where he presided over a wide array of matters ranging from civil to serious criminal matters, presiding over matters pertaining to land is not a big deal for Mr Nare as there are two people by his side to guide him.

The Land Tribunal is presided over by a panel of three members, who consist of the president and two members who are eminent experts on land related matters. “We are a specialised court under the Ministry of Lands and Housing which deals with land issues, Mr Nare said.

As a court of law and equity, the Land Tribunal is characterised by friendliness, flexibility, affordability and accessibility to ensure that it issues comprehensive judgements where detailed information is given so that at the end of the day, litigants are satisfied even if they lost cases.

On instances where the parties are not satisfied with the judgment made by the land tribunal, they have the right to appeal their case to the High Court. In spite of a high number of disputes, it is only a few customers who appeal to the High Court.

He said it is normal for customers who are not satisfied to appeal their cases, saying “it is either we are doing a good job or aggrieved people are intimidated to go to the High Court.

It is not surprising that few cases are appealed to the High Court because as a court of law and equity, the Land Tribunal is flexible, accessible, less technical and fast. With a high demand for land dispute settlements, the land tribunal is faced with an overwhelming number of matters pertaining to land allocation.

He said his court mainly focuses on decisions taken by the land board when allocating tribal land, in particular land under the jurisdiction of five land boards namely Ngwato, Tati, Chobe, Ghanzi, and Maun. He said most disputes are not on land law but, on administrative law and as such the land tribunal’s role is to review decisions taken by the land boards.

The most common matters that he presides over include unending disputes relating to water rights and squatting. Prior to delivering a judgment, the president and his two members of the panel visit the land in question so that they have a proper understanding of the case before them.

“Our major exhibit is land and we to go out and see the land in question, which helps us to deliver a judgment.”  Where there is a dispute of fact, Mr Nare says that the land tribunal calls witnesses.

However, issues pertaining to the land board’s delay to make a decision on an application for land use rights do not fall under the land tribunal’s mandate. Instead, such an issue is dealt with by the Ministry of Lands and Housing. In addition, disputes involving state land and free hold land fall outside the jurisdiction of the Land Tribunal because it only deals with issues pertaining to tribal land. ENDS