05 Feb 2026

Letlhakane residents have expressed mixed feelings about the proposed Constitutional Court, with many being skeptical about the timing, given the country’s gloomy economy.
They aired their views on Monday during the ongoing national consultations on the introduction of the Constitutional Court addressed by the Assistant Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Augustine Nyatanga.
Many said the idea of having a Constitutional Court in the country was a welcome development but noted, however, that it was not a pressing matter.
The government, they argued, should focus on addressing issues that needed urgent attention such as health and education.
Councilor for Xhumo, in the Boteti East constituency, Mr Basiami Sentsho was of the view that since constitutional review was one of the items explicitly spelt out in the UDC manifesto, a holistic approach must be employed to undertake the exercise than take the piece meal approach.
He said extracting one component such as the establishment Constitutional Court would be costly to the government, adding that the estimated costs for the Constitutional Court referendum could be used for the whole process of reviewing the constitution.
Mr Monkgogi Gakebabone of Letlhakane North East ward, welcomed the idea of establishing the ConCourt, saying it would address long-standing issues of land disputes between his tribe of Basarwa and authorities.
He cited instances in which people of his ward battled with the government, where they were not allowed to bury their loved ones at their ancestoral land in Tsutsuga.
“We are happy that the government intends to establish a type of court that is going to effectively deal with and address such issues,” he said.
Toromoja councillor, Mr Tebo Matinako also supported the idea to have a Constitutional Court.
Another speaker, Mr Isaac Bonang, suggested that before the establishment of the Constitutional Court, a holistic review of the constitution should be done.
Like the majority, he was of the view that a holistic approach should be applied in the constitutional review exercise, not special attention to one element only.
Meanwhile, in his address, Mr Nyatanga demystified the notion prevailing among many Batswana that the establishment of the Constitutional Court might be intended to abolish the death sentence in the country.
He said capital punishment was something that was in the Constitution of Botswana and for it to be changed, a referendum had to be carried out for Batswana to decide.
On the importance of the establishment of the Constitutional Court, the assistant minister said in some instances, the government was found to be violating constitutional rights of citizens, hence the need to establish a ConCourt. ENDS