LSB sues Gov’t over Brand, shady court appointments
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The Law Society of Botswana (LSB) has made it clear that it was not bluffing when it expressed its intention to challenge the appointment of Justice Brand to the court of Appeal bench along with any “secretive” appointments to the High court and court of Appeal benches. In a perhaps cleverly orchestrated and swift move, the Society served the Attorney General and the Judicial Service Commission with a statutory notice of the lawsuit, a day after LSB chairperson Lawrence Lecha made mention of the intention to challenge Brand’s appointment.
Lecha first spoke about the intention to challenge Brand’s appointment during the opening of this year’s legal year at the Gaborone High court on Tuesday this week. The following day the Society served the Attorney General and the Judicial Service Commission with the statutory notice detailing the intention of the lawsuit. The State President, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Attorney General will be sued at the expiry of the thirty day statutory notice.
“Please take notice that the above named claimant intends, at the expiry of the thirty days, to launch court proceedings against the President of the Republic of Botswana Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama (the “President” and/ or the Judicial Service Commission (“JSC) and /or the Government of the Republic of Botswana for an order in the following terms, an order reviewing and /or setting aside and declaring as unlawful, null and void the appointment of Mr Justice Frederik Daniel Jacobus (Fritz) Brand as the Judge of the court of Appeal,” the notice reads it part.
The LSB would further ask the court to make an order directing and ordering the JSC to provide and or disclose the process followed in identifying and placing before the JSC for appointment the 66 year old Brand.
Alternatively they would ask for an order reviewing and setting aside the decision of the JSC to recommend him for appointment.
Around October last year, 2015, President Khama appointed Brand as the Judge of the court of Appeal. The appointment accordingly followed the recommendation by the JSC and Judge President of the Court of Appeal, Ian Kirby says Brand did not apply for the job, but was rather “invited.”
The main objection however is that Brand’s appointment was clouded by secrecy which is common in the appointment of Judges in the country.
“In making the recommendation, the JSC never placed an advert in the Botswana government Gazette and in fact did not place any notice at all requesting for interested persons to fill the vacant position aforesaid,” LSB stated.
It further stated that, although Brand had started his job, to date, it is unknown as to who exactly negotiated and approached him for appointment.
“The LSB therefore contend that the manner of appointment to such a high Judicial office in a highly secretive and clandestine manner is unlawful and goes against all known rules of transparency in a democratic dispensation and is contrary to law,” it further contended.
The LSB also intends to ask the court to declare that the current system of recommendation for appointment as carried out by the JSC lacks transparency, openness and is irregular and contrary to law and good governance.
They would therefore ask the court to direct the JSC to advertise all or any vacant positions in the court of Appeal and the High court and to conduct interviews in respect thereof before making a recommendation for any appointment of a Judge.
According to LSB Executive Secretary, Tebogo Moipolai, the decision to challenge Brand’s appointment was first made in November, 2015, but due to some tactical legal issues that required to be resolved was revisited in December and again the resolution was confirmed.
“The reasons for the challenge relate to the process of appointment. As with others at the CoA (Court of Appeal) it lacks transparency since there was no advertisement or interview. It is not known to LSB even with a member in the JSC, where and how he was approached and by who,” Moipolai explained.
The other reason for the challenge, Moipolai says, is as stated by the LSB Chairperson, Lecha in his speech, on Tuesday this week before President Khama, Attorney General and the JSC when the High court legal year of 2016 was officially opened at the Gaborone High court.
Lecha had mentioned that, over the years, since as far back as 2006, or earlier, the LSB has advocated for a change in approach to the process of appointment of Judges with very limited success.”
He said although the interpretation of the Constitution was before the court in as far as the appointment of Judges was concerned, he was disappointed that, “whilst this litigation is ongoing, the Judicial Service Commission moves on with the same process that is being challenged. We would have thought that it would be prudent to allow the courts to pronounce on the proper process to follow first, or at best on the side of caution and accept the interpretation suggested by the Society in the interim.”
At the time Lecha was speaking, a Judgment in which the society was challenging the refusal to appoint a local Attorney, Omphemetse Motumise by President Khama was yet to be issued. Khama refused to make the appointment even though Motumise was recommended by the JSC as required by law.
Lecha further added that, “an accepted principle in the dispensation of justice is that the Presiding Officers of courts must reflect the demographics of the society that those courts serve. The Society however notes that this is not the case in the High Court and especially the Court of Appeal where gender, race and age are disproportionate to the demographic position of the country.”
Gov’t reacts to Lecha’s remarks
Lecha’s remarks seemingly rubbed government officials the wrong way and the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security in particular demanded an apology. The Ministry lamented that the speech contained racist, xenophobic and discriminatory undertones. Even the Judge President of the court of Appeal, Justice Ian Kirby was not amused and expressed the same view as the Ministry. He labelled Lecha’s remarks as “rude”.
Nonetheless the LSB has maintained that it stands by the speech and that it would not apologise.
“It needs to be stated that being a multiracial, multicultural and tolerant nation does not mean as a society we should shy away from publicly dealing with issues simply because they deal with race,” LSB retorted in a press statement that followed.
It further added that, “Any suggestion that it (speech) has racial, xenophobic and discriminatory undertones is either indicative of a serious dearth of knowledge of social sciences or simply mischievous. As said in the speech, in South Africa, the often talked about transformation of the Judiciary which is being championed by the country’s Chief Justice is based on this very same principle and the country has made great strides in that regard whilst Botswana, a much older democracy lags behind.”
Meanwhile Botswana’s Chief Justice, Maruping Dibotelo says his ideal Judiciary has to be well resourced and independent.
“I have committed what remains of my tenure as Chief Justice to ensuring that the Judiciary is properly resourced to enable it to discharge its constitutional mandate,” he stated and added that while he agrees that key Stakeholders in the Justice system must in general work together towards delivery of quality justice, “it should not be interpreted as equating the Judiciary which is an arm of the State, to Departments or Institutions that fall under the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security because to do so could undermine and cloud the independence of the Judiciary which we continue to guard jealously at all times”.
“The Judiciary is required and must be a strong, impartial, independent and accountable Institution. Independence of the Judiciary is neither an esoteric pronouncement nor a privilege for the conform of Judicial Officers but a right and a practical measure for the benefit of Citizens, in a democratic state such as ours, to ensure that courts are true and genuine arbiters of cases brought before them. Whatever a litigant is standing or position in society we are all deemed equal before the law,” Dibotelo pointed out.
Dibotelo further expressed concern at the growing number of lawsuits against the State President.
“2015 was a turbulent year for the judiciary, a year marked by a litany of litigation against His Excellency the President, The Judicial Service Commission, The Attorney General etc. The litigation not only tested the integrity, strength of our Judiciary, and our commitment to adherence to the Rule of law but on hindsight equally demonstrated public confidence on the judiciary to promptly and adequately address issues brought before it,” he stated.
However the LSB suggests that the Chief Justice “is all talk but no action” because, “there has in the last few years been an unmistakable impression that cases of national importance or significance to Government always find themselves before the same Judges or panel of Judges, be it at the court of Appeal or the High court.”
The Society stressed that the society needs to be placed on record that Forum Shopping is as deplorable as the Chief Justice said in 2014, “Any partial allocation of cases further destroys the credibility of our judiciary.”
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ENVIRONMENT ISSUES: Masisi asks Virginia for help
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says the issue of sustainable natural resources management has always been an important part of Botswana’s national development agenda.
Masisi was speaking this week on the occasion of a public lecture at Virginia Polytechnic, under theme, “Merging Conservation, Democracy and Sustainable Development in Botswana.”
Botswana, according to Masisi, holds the view that the environment is fragile and as such, must be managed and given the utmost protection to enable the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“It is necessary that we engage one another in the interchange of ideas, perspectives, visualizations of social futures, and considerations of possible strategies and courses of action for sustainable development,” said Masisi.
On the other hand, dialogue, in the form of rigorous democratic discourse among stakeholders presents another basis for reconfiguring how people act on their environments, with a view to conserving its resources that “we require to meet our socio-economic development needs on a sustainable basis,” Masisi told attendees at the public lecture.
He said government has a keen interest in understanding the epidemiology and ecology of diseases of both domestic and wild animals. “It is our national interest to forestall the dire consequences of animal diseases on our communities livelihoods.”
President Masisi hoped that both Botswana and Virginia could help each other in curbing contagious diseases of wildlife.
“We believe that Virginia Tech can reasonably share their experiences, research insights and advances in veterinary sciences and medicines, to help us build capacity for knowledge creation and improve efforts of managing and containing contagious diseases of wildlife. The ground is fertile for entering into such a mutually beneficial partnership.”
When explaining environmental issues further, Masisi said efforts of conservation and sustainable development might at times be hampered by the emergence and recurrence of diseases when pathogens mutate and take host of more than one species.
“Water pollution also kills aquatic life, such as fish, which is one of humanity’s much deserved sources of food. In this regard, One Health Approach imposes ecological responsibility upon all of us to care for the environment and the bio-diversity therein.”
He said the production and use of animal vaccines is an important space and tool for conservation, particularly to deal with trans-border animal diseases.
“In Botswana, our 43-year-old national premier pharmaceutical institution called Botswana Vaccine Institute has played its role well. Through its successful production of highly efficacious Foot and Mouth vaccines, the country is able to contain this disease as well as supply vaccines to other countries in the sub-region.:
He has however declared that there is need for more help, saying “We need more capacitation to deal with and contain other types of microbial that affect both animals and human health.”
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Masisi saddened by deaths of elephant attacks
President Mokgweetsi Masisi has expressed a strong worry over elephants killing people in Botswana. When speaking in Virginia this week, Masisi said it is unfortunate that Batswana have paid a price with their own blood through being attacked by elephants.
“Communities also suffer unimaginable economic losses yearly when their crops are eaten by the elephants. In spite of such incidents of human-elephant conflict, our people embrace living together with the animals. They fully understand wildlife conservation and its economic benefits in tourism.”
In 2018, Nthobogang Samokwase’s father was attacked by an elephant when travelling from the fields, where he stayed during the cropping season.
It was reported that the man couldn’t run because of his age. He was found trampled by the elephant and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
In the same year, in Maun, a 57-year-old British woman was attacked by an elephant at Boro and died upon arrival at the hospital. The woman was with her Motswana partner, and were walking dogs in the evening.
Last month, a Durban woman named Carly Marshall survived an elephant attack while on holiday in the bush in Botswana. She was stabbed by one of the elephant’s tucks through the chest and was left with bruises. Marshall also suffered several fractured ribs from the ordeal.
President Masisi Botswana has the largest population of African elephants in the world, totaling more than 130 000. “This has been possible due to progressive conservation policies, partnerships with the communities, and investment in wildlife management programmes.”
In order to benefit further from wildlife, Masisi indicated that government has re-introduced controlled hunting in 2019 after a four-year pause. “The re-introduction of hunting was done in an open, transparent and democratic way, giving the communities an opportunity to air their views. The funds from the sale of hunting quota goes towards community development and elephant conservation.”
He stressed that for conservation to succeed, the local people must be involved and derive benefits from the natural resources within their localities.
“There must be open and transparent consultations which involve all sectors of the society. It is against this backdrop that as a country, we lead the continent on merging conservation, democracy and sustainable development.”
Masisi stated that Botswana is open to collaborative opportunities, “particularly with identifiable partners such as Virginia Tech, in other essential areas such as conservation, and the study of the interplay among the ecology of diseases of wild animals and plants, and their effects on human health and socio-economic development.”
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Gov’t commit to injecting more funds in fighting HIV
Minister for State President Kabo Morwaeng says government will continue to make resources available in terms of financial allocations and human capital to ensure that Botswana achieves the ideal of eradicating HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Morwaeng was speaking this morning in Gaborone at the High-Level Advocacy event to accelerate HIV Prevention in Botswana. He said the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAPHA), in partnership with UNAIDS, UN agencies, the Global Fund and PEPFAR, have started a process of developing transition readiness plan for sustainability of HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
“It is important for us, as a country that has had a fair share of donor support in the response to an epidemic such as HIV and AIDS, to look beyond the period when the level of assistance would have reduced, or ceased, thus calling for domestic financing for all areas which were on donor support.”
Morwaeng said this is important as the such a plan will guarantee that all the gains accrued from the response with donor support will be sustained until the end when “we reach the elimination of HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 20230,” he said.
“I commit to continue support efforts towards strengthened HIV prevention, accentuating HIV primary prevention and treatment as prevention towards Zero New Infections, Zero Stigma, Discrimination and Zero AIDS related death, to end AIDS in Botswana.”
He reiterated that government commits to tackle legislative, policy and programming challenges that act as barriers to the achievement of the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.
In the financial year 2022/2023, a total of 119 Civil Society Organizations, including Faith Based Organizations, were contracted with an amount of P100 million to implement HIV and NCDs prevention activities throughout the country, and the money was drawn from the Consolidated Fund.
Through an upcoming HIV Prevention Symposium, technical stakeholders will use outcomes to develop the Botswana HIV Prevention Acceleration Road Map for 2023-2025.
Morwaeng stated that government will support and ensure that Botswana plays its part achieving the road map. He said there is need to put hands on the deck to ensure that Botswana sustains progress made so far in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“There are tremendous achievements thus far to, reach and surpass the UNAIDS fast track targets of 95%- 95%- 95% by the year 2025. As reflected by the BAIS preliminary results of 2021, we now stand at 95- 98- 98 against the set targets.”
“These achievements challenge us to now shift our gears and strive to know who are the remaining 5% for those aware of their HIV status, 2% of enrolment on treatment by those aware of their status and 2% of viral suppression by those on treatment.”
Explaining this further, Morwaeng said shift in gears should extend to coming up with robust strategies of determining where these remaining people are as well as how they will be reached with the necessary services.
“These are just some of the many variables that are required to ensure that as a country, we are well positioned to reaching the last mile of our country’s response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.”