A case in which lawyers that represented the Basarwa of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in their marathon case against the government has now been penciled in for hearing on June 27, 2007 at the Lobatse High Court.
The lawyers, Duma Boko and Briton Gordon Bennett, have approached the Court of Appeal requesting that the government pay the costs.
The issue was in the past struck off because of some technicalities that included a non-appearance by the two lawyers at the court.
The case follows after a judgment passed last December ruled that the Basarwa were wrongfully removed from the CKGR by the government. In the judgment, the court ruled each party should pay for their costs of the trial.
The government is defending the decision to throw out the case which includes the costs of flying Bennett and his assistant from the United Kingdom as well as hotel accommodations in the country and transport to various locations in the CKGR.
The case also saw Roy Sesana, who was the first applicant in the matter, criss-crossing America and Europe scouting for funds. Survival International played a big role in this regard leading to accusations that it was meddling in the country’s affairs. Sesana was also accused of profiting from the case.
Once again, Sydney Pilane, assisted by Ditta Molodi, is representing the government. It is not yet clear as to who will hear the case.
The government recently announced a relaxation of rules on who can enter the reserve without permission.
At first the government said that only those who were part of the application could enter without permits whilst others could only do so but with permits, a situation the Basarwa were not happy with.
