SAN ALLEGE TORTURE BY WILDLIFE OFFICIALS

UNCLAS GABORONE 001046

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR MUNCY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV BC SAN CKGR
SUBJECT: SAN ALLEGE TORTURE BY WILDLIFE OFFICIALS

REFERENCE: (A) Gaborone 913 (B) Gaborone
(C) Gaborone


1. SUMMARY: Five residents of Kaudwane, one of the
villages to which residents of the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve (CKGR) were relocated, have alleged that Department
of Wildlife and National Parks officials tortured them
earlier this year. Although the GOB has denied these
allegations, PolOff encountered some accounts that supported
their claims during a July 21-22 visit to Kaudwane. The
GOB's investment in physical infrastructure, education and
other assistance for the residents of Kaudwane
notwithstanding, its relationship with them is largely
characterized by fear and resentment. Mission will continue
to encourage the Government to find a more consultative
approach to remote area development and will work with civil
society to identify and support groups that could represent
the San in such discussions. END SUMMARY.

SAN MEN ALLEGE TORTURE FOR KILLING AN ELAND


2. On July 22, PolOff met with two of three Kaudwane
residents who claimed to have been tortured by officials of
the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP).
According to these gentlemen, DWNP came to question them one
day in early June (they could not remember the specific
date) about reports that they had killed an eland, a legally-
protected species. After they repeatedly denied having done
so and pointed out the absence of any evidence of their
guilt, the men said they were tied by their ankles to a
pole, hung up side down, and kicked and punched about the
head and torso. DWNP officials then reportedly locked them
in a cell of the local police (not to be confused with the
Botswana Police Service) where they reportedly were kept
overnight and for most of the following day without food.
On the evening of the second day, they were released. The
following morning they went to the small clinic in Kaudwane
for medical attention. DWNP officials met them there and
took them for more questioning but did not abuse them
further. They released the men later that day.


3. Although PolOff found no definitive evidence to refute
or confirm these allegations, statements of individuals who
had seen the men shortly after the incident lent credibility
to their account. One of three health care providers at the
clinic in Kaudwane said that she had not treated the men but
had noticed one of them limping after the day of the alleged
abuse. Another told PolOff that the local police had made
arrangements to carry the men to the nearest hospital -
although the alleged victims indicated that they still had
not been to the hospital six weeks after their questioning.
The chief of the village, the Remote Area Development
Officer, and a University of Botswana academic who happened
to have visited Kaudwane shortly after the alleged incident
all told PolOff that they had seen the men bruised and
swollen following their questioning.


4. When the men tried to lodge a complaint with the local
police, the officers told them that the matter was beyond
their jurisdiction. They then contacted Ditshwanelo, a
human rights organization, which brought them to Gaborone
and arranged for them to meet with an attorney. Alice
Mogwe, director of that organization, told PolOff that an
attorney has notified the GOB of their intent to press
charges.


5. After the men returned to Kaudwane, a committee of
government employees came in early July to investigate the
matter. They interviewed the alleged victims, the local
police, and officers of the DWNP. Although no local police
officers were in the village when PolOff visited, he met
DWNP officials who denied that any abuse had occurred. No
one had heard of any results of this investigation.

SECOND ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE FOR POACHING


6. In a separate account, two other Kaudwane residents
claimed to have been beaten by DWNP officers around the same
time as the incident described above. One of the two told
PolOff that DWNP officials came to his hut and took him away
to question him about the killing of an eland. He claimed
to have been made to assume a push-up position with his
fists on bricks and then was allegedly kicked and beaten on
the ribs. His friend, who was questioned over the same dead
eland, said he was chained to a vehicle and beaten. The
DWNP officers, he explained, had handcuffed his right hand
to his left ankle, left hand to right ankle and then chained
him the front of a Toyota Land Cruiser before beating him.
Then they dropped him onto the ground. Both claimed that
the DWNP officers made them run behind the vehicle as it
drove from the remains of the eland to the DWNP camp. The

two were then taken to a magistrate court and charged with
poaching.


7. One of these men produced a form from his visit to the
clinic following the incident, which said that he had been
"beaten." He had not attempted to register a case with the
local police, however. Why, he asked, should he have
expected assistance from those who had kept him in custody
until the DWNP officials could carry him to the magistrate?

GOVERNMENT DENIES TORTURE ALLEGATIONS


8. After the allegations became public on July 1, the
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment,
Wildlife and Tourism denied them categorically. On July 22,
the Office of the President issued a statement quoting from
a draft report of the investigation committee further
refuting the claims. It asserted that the alleged victims
specifically denied any abuse (contrary to what they told
PolOff on July 22),that the nurse had found no signs of
abuse (although four different witnesses had described their
injuries and one had a form from the clinic saying he had
been "beaten"),and that local police had seen no evidence
of abuse (although they reportedly had made arrangements for
the men to visit a hospital). According to the Office of
the President, the draft report concluded that the
allegations were baseless.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND GOVERNMENT TENSE


9. The torture allegations, whether true or not, were
consistent with the generally fearful and resentful attitude
residents appeared to have toward the Government. The
village chief, and his recently resigned father, told PolOff
in separate conversations that the GOB had failed to fulfill
its promises to those who left the CKGR. Although they had
received cattle as compensation for leaving their homes,
they continued to suffer from unemployment and poverty. A
community-based natural resource management project, which
might provide some income generating opportunities, had been
put off since 1999. They claimed that DWNP officers
generally "harassed" residents and described the Remote Area
Development Officer as lackadaisical.


10. Village residents complained to PolOff that only those
who had left behind a hut in the CKGR received destitute
rations from the Government. This meant that anyone who had
lived with a parent inside the CKGR, could not qualify for
such assistance on their own although at least three years
had passed (more for some) and they might now be adults.
This same rule applied to those for whom an NGO working on
contract for the District Council could construct a one-
room, cinder-block house. According to the newly-appointed
chief, the Social and Community Development Officer had
indicated her intention to further reduce the number of
residents eligible to receive such assistance in Kaudwane.


11. Access to natural resources also posed a problem in the
village. Residents told PolOff that they could hunt rarely
because wildlife was sparse outside the reserve. Several
families had left the village proper to establish compounds
on its outskirts in order to have easier access to firewood.
This centrifugal movement eventually will bring them up
against the cattle posts and ranches that surround the
village. A DWNP officer assigned to the Kaudwane camp for
the last six years wondered aloud about the wisdom of
locating the village where it has no room to expand.
Although she asserted that residents exaggerated the
scarcity of wildlife outside the reserve, she acknowledged
that hunting required much more time and effort than it
would inside the reserve, where animals congregate at pans.

SAN CONTINUE TRICKLING BACK INTO CKGR


12. Rather than receive more assistance, some - but not all
- interlocutors in Kaudwane told PolOff they would prefer to
return to the CKGR. They confirmed that some had done so
earlier this year and many more would have joined them had
it not been for sparse rains. The outgoing chief opined
that those who wish to go back should be able to do so. He
would advise young people, however, to continue with their
education in Kaudwane. This was consistent with the
frequently-expressed desire to retain the San traditional
lifestyle while having access to education and enjoying the
right to chose for themselves how to marry their customs
with modernity.

COMMENT: LOCAL LEADERSHIP NEEDED


13. As a group of Kaudwane residents observed to PolOff,
they clearly needed someone to defend and promote their

interests. Mission has in the past attempted to fund
conferences to establish such a body and has reached out to
potential partners to reiterate that offer. We will
continue to look for other actors with which to collaborate
on means to support a dialogue between the San and the
Government on a mutually acceptable path toward development
and prosperity. On his departure calls (refs B and C),
former Ambassador Huggins called on the GOB to address the
San issue. Mission will continue to monitor this issue
closely and will raise the torture allegations with the
Office of the President at an early date.
AROIAN


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