Our national Anthem reminds us where we get our land from. It is a gift from God, and inheritance of our forefathers. In this part I would like to discuss this gift of god in the context of the topical constitutional challenge.
Sometime in November 2011 I served the state with a notice to admit certain facts in the course of a trial. The state has not responded to the notice. This notice asked pertinent questions concerning the legal authority of the government to control land belonging to the various tribal groups of Botswana who were independent kingdoms prior to 1966 owning their land.
The notice demands documentary or other evidence on the basis of which the government claims ownership and control of the land of these Kingdoms. The notice demands the State to admit as a fact that no records exist of an agreement with the people to surrender their land to the newly formed Government in 1966. This area of the constitutional case is a key aspect where the truth has similarly been suppressed by failure of the state to comply with Court orders.
The land we all occupy is an inheritance of our forefathers, as the national anthem says. In respect of Bakgatla ba Kgafela specifically, our forefathers fought wars and shed their lives to earn the land forming the territory now under the control of the Government through the Kgatleng land board.
The inheritance of our forefathers is presently being enjoyed and controlled by a few people through the agency of Government without any supporting evidence as to how they obtained legal authority over the land.
We must all remember this crucial fact of reality when we sing the national anthem or when we complain about land boards or when we rejoice at the premature dismissal of the constitutional case by the High Court. The questions I asked in my notice to admit facts and my affidavit will prevail to haunt this nation for years to come until the constitution is fixed and the past is ratified upon agreement. The men of this country must wake up to this reality concerning the inheritance of their forefathers.
The national anthem says the land is a gift from God, yet we have seen during the constitutional challenge how the State relates to the law of God upon this land.
I have sought to demonstrate in our Courts and to persuade those in authority to uphold the law of god ( as enshrined in agreed international law ) above all other laws, because the Court and the state sit upon this land given by God .
I have not been successful at this stage notwithstanding the reality that all judicial officers perform their functions upon oath on the holy bible and the entire business of the court is based on such same oath. We are yet to attempt to persuade the Court of appeal that shall hear the appeal against the judgement of the High Court sometime this winter.
This article serves as a reminder to fellow countrymen, to pay attention to the teachings of the national anthem that reminds us to respect God and honour our forefathers as the bible similarly teaches us to do.
Our forefathers carried us through history with their laws for the past 400 years prior to 1966. The youth of this country who call themselves republicans and who despise the law and ways of their forefathers must learn wisdom from these teachings.
In part one of this article I spoke about the women disillusionment with the men of this country. I have learnt with agonising embarrassment , the statistical truth that over 70% of the households in this country are headed and supported by women; and sadly that many of our men who we see shining are living in accommodation provided by the women.
We have a problem in our society that requires urgent intervention of the women, where social collapse seems inevitable due to male egos and lack of proper attention. Mma- ngwana o tshwara thipa ka fa bogaleng “.
I appeal to the women of this country to rise up fully to their call of the national anthem to secure the peace and prosperity sung about in the song. There are good men out there who are alive to their responsibilities as men. My encouraging reminder is that evil thrives when good men remain silent and disunited. Emang basadi! …. tsogang banna!
We must continue to shake the foundation of the constitution with the power in the words of our national anthem. It is a good song. It is a song for freedom. Let us encourage each other to put more life into our souls when we sing it. I have highlighted this wisdom in the presence of my brother Rre Ramadeluka Seretse at a kgotla meeting.
Kgafela is Kgolo kgolo of Bakgatla
