“It is a joyful moment as the judges, taking the Botswana constitution into consideration, which talks about the bill of rights, ruled that the land cannot be taken away from us forcefully and without consultation. This should be a lesson to the government that they should in future consult if they need to use something that is in the hands of other Batswana. I would like to thank the Community for their financial support, and all forms of support. I believe this piece of land will help us as Balete and the whole nation to achieve vision 2036 pillar of ‘Prosperity for all'”. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Ba-Ga-Malete rejoiced after the High Court of Botswana ruled in their favour.
The tribe won a case in which the landboard wanted to claim the Forest Hill from the tribe and thereby rendering their title deed invalid. The Malete Land Board wanted the Registrar of Deeds to cancel the title deed in the custody of Kgosi Mosadi Seboko and Gamalete Development Trust in respect of a 2000-hectare portion of Farm Forest Hill 9-KO.
The disputed land in question dates back to 1925 when Balete bought a farm known as Forest Hill 9-KO farm, for investment purposes. The tribe contributed a portion of the Three thousand British Pounds (£3 000) required to purchase the land from Aaron Siew. To this day, the title deed is in the name of Kgosikgolo for and on behalf of the tribe.The government claimed that the land belongs to the Land Board under the Tribal Territories Act which places the administration of the farm to the Malete Land Board.
The case which was heard by a panel of three (3) judges; Hon. Judge Michael Letsogile Mothobi, Hon. Judge Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae, and Hon. Judge Gabriel Gadzani Komboni today at the High Court of Botswana in Gaborone ruled that the farm in question is a private property of the Ba-Ga-Malete tribe, and as such the government lost the case with costs.
