4 Court of Appeal Judges separately rule against Khama
News
Omphemetse Motumise who was the first in list recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is awaiting a letter from the JSC or appointing authority inviting him to commence work as High Court Judge in Botswana.
This comes following a matter in which Law Society of Botswana (LSB) was challenging the refusal by President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama to appoint Motumise as a Judge – as recommended by the empowered JSC. It is understood that during the JSC shortlisted candidates interviewed by the latter, Motumise had the highest score followed by Justice Tapiwa Marumo of the Industrial Court, Sarkodie Mensah who has previously acted as High Court Judge was the third, and the now Acting Judge Justice Zein Kebonang who is a twin brother to one of Khama’s cabinet Ministers Sadique – came last.
However after rejecting Motumise, Khama moved swiftly to appoint Kebonang as Acting High Court Judge – the position he still holds to date. The position fell vacant following the retirement and subsequently departure of Judge David Newman who has since been awarded with the ambassadorial post.
In appointing Motumise, the JSC were said to be acting in terms of section 96.2 of the Botswana constitution which states that “The other Judges of the High Court shall be appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.”
The JSC is composed of the Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo who is also Chairman; the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Ian Stuart Kirby; the Attorney-General Athaliah Molokomme (who has since retired); the Chairman of the Public Service Commission; and a member of the Law Society nominated by the Law Society; as well as a person of integrity and experience not being a legal practitioner appointed by President Khama.
According to the Court of Appeal Judges; Justices Isaac Lesetedi, Monametsi Gaongalelwe, Lord Hamilton, Jacobus Brand, Alistair Abernethy in a judgement read by Lesetedi this week in Gaborone; he said as a conclusion in the main judgement that in the absence of an explanation by the President (in rejecting Motumise) therefore his decision stands to be reviewed and set aside.
“For that reason therefore this ground of appeal is upheld and the President’s refusal to act on the recommendation of the JSC for the appointment of 2nd appellant (Motumise) as a Judge of the High Court is set aside,” all the Judges stated in the conclusion of the final judgement, although they had 4 separate judgement for the first time in the history of Botswana.
While they were all in agreement, Justice Gaongalelwe differed with them only on the proper interpretation of phrase in section 96.2 that “shall be appointed by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the JSC.” He said it depends in the regime of a particular country and the context in light of other provisions of the constitution. “I am in agreement with the conclusion of the court a quo that in this matter the phrase simply means that the president is not to appoint a person who has not been recommended by the JSC,” Gaongalelwe stated.
JSC, Lesetedi contended that for the transparency purposes, it can decide on whether they want to make interviews for candidates vying for High Court Judgeship in the open and that the court has no right in the absence of a law empowering it to do so. He however highlighted that this may continue to be a debate going forward. Meanwhile the appellants having succeeded partially in the reliefs they sought, each party was ordered to bear its own cost in the appeal.
LSB and Motumise were cited as 1st and 2nd appellants in the matter while President Khama, JSC and AG were cited in papers as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Appellants were represented by Advocate Alec Freund, Advocate Hephzibah Rajah, Osego Garebamono, Tshiamo Rantao and Tefo Gaongalelwe. On the other side respondents were represented by Advocate Anwar Albertus, Advocate Grant Quixley and Yarona Sharp.
On his part, Rantao of Rantao Kewagamang Attorneys’ who was representing LSB and Motumise (appellants) who are triumphant in their main contention, could not hide his excitement outside court shortly after the judgement. He stated with poise that the CoA decision in his view is “a resounding victory – for the rule of law.” “Its resounding victory for us because the CoA on the main issue which we went to court in the first instances all is in our favour particularly on the interpretation of section 96.2 of the Botswana constitution, all but not entirely” he said.
Rantao however cautioned that: but the results are that if the president is concerned about a person who is recommended by the JSC, for example if he is a national security threat, he must raise his concerns with the JSC through the Attorney General (AG). “The AG as you would know, represent the Executive in particular the president in this case and the JSC. So what it means is that the president cannot now, without giving any reason refuse to accept the recommendation of the JSC.”
He added that in the history of the Court of Appeal, which is the highest court in the land; we had 4 judges writing different opinions arising in many respects in the same results. “But, not just agreeing, not just concurring, 5 out of 5, but differing on how to arrive at the judgement that’s very good that’s what we expect from our CoA and I think that, in that regard, they acquitted themselves very well.” According to the attorney, “so, Mr Motumise is now effectively waiting for a letter from the JSC or any other relevant authority advising him when to take a seat as the Judge of the High Court.”
News
Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
News
Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
News
Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.