Botswana’s Bushmen Win Right to Return to Kalahari

Botswana’s High Court ruled 2 to 1 in favor of allowing the evicted Bushmen to return to the central Kalahari to hunt and gather in the reserve.The court’s decision is being hailed as a victory for indigenous peoples.

In 2002, the government forced the community of Bushmen out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The Bushmen accused the government of evicting them in order to allow for the mining of diamonds in the reserve. The government denied the accusation and said the ‘relocation’ was needed to more easily provide healthcare and education to Bushmen.

London-based NGO, Survival International, in a campaign against the evictions accused De Beers of wanting to mine diamonds in the reserve. De Beers, in a press release, wrote, “The De Beers Group was pleased by the court’s unanimous agreement that diamonds played no role in the dispute between the First People of the Kalahari (FPK) and the Government. The court ruled in favor of the FPK and all three judges in the case agreed that there was no connection between diamonds and the relocation policy of the Government of Botswana.”

Community leader and member of the advocacy group of the FPK, Roy Sesana, was quoted on allAfrica.com, “Finally we have been set free. The evictions have been very, very painful for my people. I hope that now we can go home to our land.”

There are approximately 45,000 Bushmen in Botswana. Most of them live in squalor after having been displaced from their ancestral lands.