05 Jun 2025

Residents of Khwai in the Okavango Delta have requested for compensation after they were relocated to make way for Moremi Game Reserve.

Established in 1963, Moremi Game Reserve is among the first in Africa to be established by the indigenous people with the aim to conserve their heritage, particularly wildlife which was declining.

Residents submitted before the Inter Ministerial Committee assigned to look into the situation of Basarwa, that they were moved from their ancestral land without adequate consultation and their property demolished.

They expressed displeasure for having their rights violated and denied the right to quality of life.

“We have been struggling for a long time, to live a dignified life yet we were promised that the relocation would provide opportunities for us. We even struggled to access the basics such as schools, clinics, electricity and water just like other Batswana,” said, Kgosi Lesie Kwere

She said their children’s education was compromised because they had to travel long distance to school but with help from the Gross family, the village now had a primary school that started operating in 2021.

Another resident, Ms Diphetogo Lekgowa concurred that their parents deserved compensation as they were relocated without their consent because they were not consulted.

She also complained that government had a tendency of imposing some of the projects upon them without consultation and wished that with the new government, things would be different.

“A lot has been happening in our area without our input. We have seen some developments emerging and yet we are not part of decision making,” she said citing the envisioned oil mine exploration in the Okavango panhandle.

Ms Lekgowa pointed out that the development was being done in a sensitive area which had been recognised internationally.

Some residents complained that their village had long been gazetted and hoped that the government would build schools and a clinic but that has not happened.

They also called for government to allow them to hunt, arguing that for a long time they co-existed with wildlife and relied on them for survival.

“Traditionally, we are skilled hunters because we like meat hence there are no butchers in our village because we do not rear livestock. Hunting is part of our culture and beyond meat, our diet includes wild fruits as such we appeal to the government to allow us to hunt to enjoy our right to quality of life,” said an elderly, Mr Joseph Sango. ENDS