HIGH COURTCASE DEVELOPMENTS: FIRST PEOPLE OF THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GABORONE 002026

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S DIFFILY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV BC SAN CKGR
SUBJECT: HIGH COURTCASE DEVELOPMENTS: FIRST PEOPLE OF THE
KALAHARI V. GOVERNMENT'OF BOTSWANA



1. (C) SUMMARY: First People of the Kalahari's (FPK) High
Court case against the Government of Botswana made slow
progress during the month of November. Developments outside
the court room, including the FPK leader Roy Sesana's trip to
the U.S. and U.K., the increasing involvement of Survival
International (Sl) in the case, and the emergence of a plan to
seek an audience with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan,
contributed to further international attention being given to
the confrontation. This internationalization of the dispute
is likely to reinforce the GOB's position on the relocation of
the Basarwa. Other NGOs in Botswana take a different strategy
on the fate of the Basarwa and distance themselves from the
FPK. END SUMMARY.

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SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL STRENGTHENS TIES WITH FPK
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2. (C) At the request of the defendant, the High Court
temporarily suspended the Sat case in July to allow the FPK
sufficient time to raise funds for a continuance. The FPK case
against the Government of Botswana resumed last month. During
the interim, the FPK overhauled its team of lawyers, dropping
South African attorneys Glyn Williams and John Whitehead, as
well as Motswana Chris DuPlessis. British barrister Gordon
Bonnet, whom Williams had originally insisted on including in
the legal team, took over as lead counsel. Puma Boko, a local
attorney experienced in human rights cases, joined him.
According to Alice Mogwe, Director of the Botswana Center for
Human Rights (also known as Ditshwanelo),the reshuffling of
attorneys reflected SI's growing influence with the FPK.
Bonnet reportedly is closely associated with SI, and an
employee of that organization accompanied him to the Court.
SI also is said to have played a key role in flying FPK leader
Roy Sesana to the U.K. and to the U.S. in August and September
on tours to promote the group's cause and raise money.


3. (C) When asked about the respective roles of SI and
Ditshwanelo in the case, Sesana told PolOff that SI was now
sponsoring the case. Sesana's assistant Jumanda asserted,
however, that Bonnet's links to SI notwithstanding, he ls
volunteering as counsel for the FPK, not acting on behalf of
SI. Sesana confessed to being uncertain of Ditshwanelo's role
and indicated his intention to meet with Alice Mogwe to confer
about this.

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DITSHWANELO ASSISTING SAN MORE BROADLY
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4. (C) In a November 16 meeting with PolOff, Ms. Mogwe
explained that Ditshwanelo remains a friend of and advocate
for the Sat but has no role in the current court case.
Ditshwanelo, she said, had assisted FPK and other Sat not
represented by that group to meet with the Government to
express their needs, and even extract some compromises.
Convinced that negotiation, rather than confrontation with the
GOB was the most effective strategy, Ditshwanelo began to pull
back earlier this year when it became clear that the FPK
preferred a court battle. At this point, according to Alice
Mogwe, Ditshwanelo still seeks to assist Sat in ways not
connected to the court case and intends to resume working with
them in negotiations with the Government when the court case
finally concludes.

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FIRST PEOPLES OF THE KALAHARI NOT SOLE VOICE FOR SAN
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5. (U) Ditshwanclo is not the only group concerned about San
rights that has distanced itself from the FPK case. On
November 25, Kuru Trust launched
"Voices of the San", a
hefty, detailed, beautifully-illustrated volume celebrating
Sat culture. The event, held in Gaborone, attracted a large,
high-profile crowd. The UNDP Representative gave the keynote
address; the MP for Ghanzi was in the audience. No members
of FPK were present, however. Its absence underscores the
distance Kuru Trust, an umbrella organization including many
projects that advance Sat development, maintains from Sesana's
group. And in a recent newspaper interview with the newly
elected BDP MP from Ghanzi District, Christian De Graaf, he
was quoted as stating flatly that most Sat/Basarwa in his
district are happy with the relocation out of the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve and into the village of New Xade.
Representatives of Sat groups near Shakawe, in the northwest
Ngamiland District, during a briefing session with the DCM who
visited the area from December 3-5, also distanced themselves
from the FPK.

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DELAYS DUE TO TECHNICALITES AND RISING CRIME IN GABORONE
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6. (U) When the High Court hearings resumed on November 3,
lead counsel for the state Sidney Pilane challenged Boko's
right to represent the applicants. Pilane argued that Boko
needed a power of attorney signed by each of the 242
applicants in the case. The court ruled that because a letter
signed by 131 former CKGR residents had instructed Roy Sesana
to engage a new attorney, and Boko had obtained a power of
attorney signed by Sesana, Boko could properly represent those
applicants. The remaining applicants in the case, the court
concluded, were without representation since DuPlessis,
Whitehead and Williams
had withdrawn.

7. (U) After just one day of substantive hearings, the case
was again delayed. On November 6, thugs assaulted Pilane by
the roadsides stabbed him repeatedly, and left him seriously
wounded. The state requested a delay until its lead counsel
could return to courtroom. The High Court agreed to resume on
November 22. The applicants continued to present witnesses
until the court adjourned for the holidays on December 1.
Hearings are scheduled to resume on January 17.

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WITNESSES DESCRIBE FORCED RELOCATION
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8. (U) The witnesses for the FPK thus far have sought to
establish that the relocation process was coercive. They have
testified that political officials told them that they would
have to leave the CKGR. The uniformed police officers who
came to move them to the resettlement points, they claimed,
intimidated and mistreated them. Several said they had lost
livestock in the process and had seen their dwellings
destroyed by government officers to discourage their return.
The state presented evidence that residents of the reserve had
signed agreements to relocate and had received compensation.
Witnesses countered that they did not understand the documents
they had signed or the amount of compensation they were to
receive. One witness, however, did state that he knowingly
signed the agreement, received the compensation and then
returned to the CGKR.


9. (U) Witnesses described the resettlement village of New
Xade as a crime-ridden and 'foreign' environment. In
contrast, GOB sources have argued that New Xade is virtually
identical to Old Xade in the CKGR, except that it boasts more
public amenities. State counsel cited an anthroPologist's
descriptions of Sat life in the CKGR in the 1960s to establish
that San customs are identical those of other Batswana. The
implication of this argument is that there is no need for the
GOB to treat the San differently from any other Batswana.

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FPK SEEKS AUDIENCE WITH UNSYG
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10. (U) In a November 24 conversation, Scsana and Jumanda
informed PolOff that Rupert Isaacson is now trying to secure a
meeting
for Sesana with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Isaacson, who is affiliated with the Indigenous Land Rights
Fund, helped organize the August/September trip to the US and
the associated fund-raising efforts. Jumanda did not indicate
the likelihood of this meeting's materializing. The meeting
would aim to increase international pressure on the GOB to
change its policies relating to the Sat.

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COMMENT
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11. (C) The FPK and the COB continue to tread their divergent
paths and claim authority for different narratives. The FPK's
strategy to internationalize this issue through fund-raising
abroad, working with well-funded foreign NGOs, and engaging
the United Nations is understandable, if counterproductive in
the long run. The COB, accustomed as it is to being praised
by the international community, responds by asserting that the
FPK is misrepresenting the facts and deliberately embarrassing
the government before the world, in order to force the GOB's
hand and cede to FPK's demands of restoring Sat access to the
CKGR, their right to hunt, and the provision of public
services there. Whatever the outcome of this court case
however, the Sat, like many other remote area dwellers (RADs)
will still face the challenges of poverty and marginalization.
The FPK's current strategy is likely to hamper any future
cooperative role with the government in addressing the
perennial problem of rural poverty, once the trial has ended.
HUGGINS