03 Sep 2026

Twenty-one Bachelor of Laws (LLB) graduates from Gaborone University College of Law and Professional Studies (GUC) have suffered a setback in their bid to sit the Law Society of Botswana (LSB) Bar Examination after the High Court dismissed their urgent application.

The graduates  Arnold Somolekae and 20 others, who completed their studies through an arrangement between GUC and Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom, had approached the court seeking an order compelling the LSB to allow them to register for the Bar Examination.

However, Justice Dr Geoffrey Nthomiwa on Tuesday dismissed the urgent application, saying the matter could not be properly determined on the affidavits filed before the court.

Justice Nthomiwa said the case had implications for both the country and the legal profession and therefore required fuller ventilation beyond affidavit evidence.

He said the court had identified disputes of fact between the applicants and respondents that could not be resolved on the papers before it.

The disputes, he said, included issues arising from a Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) audit of the law programme offered under a franchise agreement.

Although the applicants maintained that they were unaware of the concerns surrounding the programme, Justice Nthomiwa said the matter had raised questions about the quality assurance of its delivery.

He said the court could therefore not, at face value, determine the credibility and suitability of the law programme or review the LSB’s decision not to enrol the graduates for the Bar Examination.

The applicants had argued that the LSB’s refusal was prejudicial, saying it had disrupted their intended legal careers, prevented them from sitting the examination and would delay their admission to legal practice.

They sought an order declaring the LSB’s decision unlawful, irrational and unreasonable. ENDS