Scores of Batswana have thrown their weight behind Basarwa tribesmen of Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) by bankrolling their appeal application against government. This was after Justice Itumeleng Segopolo dismissed their application and ordered Gaoberekwe Pitseng’s family to bury him in 10 days. The judge had also ordered that failure by the deceased’s son, cited as the main applicant, Lesiame Pitseng, would go to jail for 30 days.
The Basarwa tribesmen had dragged government before the High Court after the Director of Wildlife and National Parks barred them entry into CKGR to bury their father who was born and bred in the contentious Reserve. The body of Gaoberekwe, who died last year on Christmas Eve in New Xade, is still languishing in a mortuary in Gantsi. Following the decision of the High Court, one of the campaign organizers, attorney Kgosietsile Ngakaagae mobilized Batswana by sending out a plea on his Facebook page asking people to donate towards Basarwa’s legal bills and cause. According to data gleaned from some of bank records in the form of transfers seen by Sunday Standard, the campaign raised more than P100 000 as donations, a few months after its launch.
The records show that donations started rolling in on 26 April 2022 and accelerated in May with P500 being the largest single donation. Sunday Standard has also seen information showing that donations picked up in the same month as some donations did not travel through the traditional payment channels such as banks. Some donors contributed to Basarwa’s cause through other channels such as mobile transfer transactions. It is understood that donations to the cause continue to flow as the family and the legal team awaits the outcome of the matter that was heard before the court of appeal a few months ago.
Data also shows that anonymous contributions are responsible for almost 95 percent of the donations to the Basarwa cause. On his Facebook page Ngakaagae who joined the Gaoberekwe family legal team to assist in their appeal against the High Court order had mobilized resources and other lawyers to assist. He promised that the campaigners would remain accountable to the donations without sacrificing the donors’ privacy. When launching the campaign in April, Ngakaagae observed that, “Money and state power are being used to oppress a humble and peace-loving people/family whose only wish is to bury their father in the land of their ancestors.” “Is that too much to ask?” he asked rhetorically.
He added that, “Together, we can stand against ethnic bigotry.” In his appeal, Ngakaagae indicated that anonymous donations would be welcome and would be coordinated with the family’s lawyer, Nelson Ramaotwana He said it could not be Ramaotwana’s work alone to fight the injustices against the Gaoberekwe family and that it should a joint responsibility of all justice loving citizens.” Ngakaagae had also informed Batswana Facebook users at the time that I “have been in discussions with the lawyer representing Mr. Pitseng (son of the deceased CKGR man), to see how we can marshal resources to assist with an appeal, and a stay of execution of the court order.” He said pro bonos (representing a client without charge) aren’t just about the lawyer(s) offering their skill.”
He added that, “it’s about them literally financing the case which should be the joint responsibility of all justice loving citizens.” “We cannot have poor people being abused by the government and then threatened with legal costs, as Counsel Pilane (Advocate Sidney Pilane who represents the State in the case) has been doing. We will further be mobilizing other lawyers to assist with legal input,” he said. Pilane was quoted as saying that attorneys should not take Basarwa cases pro bono. Pilane reportedly said this is to discourage Basarwa from rushing to court over what he described as non-issues. He was also quoted as saying that in future he would opt for costs to discourage Basarwa from “rushing to court knowing that they would not pay”. Immediate comment from Ngakaagae and Ramaotwana was not available.
