Kweneng Land Board accused of unlawfully repossessing land

Land Board officials from Kweneng and Mogoditshane sub Land Board are said to be repossessing land from Balete without following proper procedure.“If you do not move out of this area we will force you out. If you disagree to take P25 000 in exchange for a ploughing field we will be forced to forcefully forfeit it from you”-This statement was allegedly uttered by Land Board officials in an attempt to grab land from people with fields close to Gaborone.

The government needs the fields to demarcate them and allocate plots for various uses to applicants especially for residence. In accordance with the law if government needs a piece of land the affected owners are consulted. Upon reaching an agreement a compensation that is satisfactory to both parties is agreed. Information gathered by Botswana Guardian has revealed that the land officials intimidate Batswana to give them the land. The officials are said to be threatening to forcibly take the fields without any compensation to the owners if they refuse to give the land in exchange for funds in the range of P25 000.  One of the victims Monicah Kealeboga Makwati said her case started in 2012 when the land board approached her family expressing interest to repossess the ploughing field. When Botswana Guardian crew visited her three and half hectares ploughing field last week, construction was already underway as a company which has been contracted by Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for the construction of the sub power station was already clearing the field.

The contractor who declined to reveal its name indicated that they have been given a go ahead to debush and start construction of a 220megawatts sub-station. The project is expected to be completed within 15 months. Mogoditshane sub Land Board is said to have allocated the land to BPC without proper consultation with the Makwati family. “Last year September after being issued with a certificate of ownership, the land board came back this year to survey. Things got out of control when we demanded from the officials any documentation that shows that we have agreed to avail the land. Nothing was produced but honestly we are not refusing with the land we just want to be allocated another plot somewhere, instead of being given P25 000.00. Listen here what are we going to do with that money with my siblings? We cannot even buy a plot with that amount. Officials from Mogoditshane Sub Land Board have even indicated that the P25 000.00 is a guarantee,” she said, adding that, “Worse my father Kaeye Nkile who is the original owner of the field said they want to hear nothing from him.

They threatened to take us to Lobatse High Court on claims that we are refusing with the plot. We are waiting for them to take us there but surprisingly as you can see they are clearing our land without our consent.”
Another victim Moreetsi Gomang said he would not want to dwell much on this issue because he already has a case with the land board before Gaborone High Court. He said that his contention not to avail the field is because the land board is negotiating with him in bad faith. He argues that he would also need to be given a piece of land not monetary compensation. “If they get my field and demarcate it to allocate ten plots why can’t I just get a share of at least two plots?” asked Gomang. Kamogelo Setlalekgosi of Tsolamosese in 1987 was allocated a plot by her mother Mokalaba Mogafhe as inheritance. She revealed that the plot was within the ploughing field that the Kweneng Land Board repossessed from her mother. She stated that part of the field is where Nkoyaphiri Mall has been constructed. The other part of the field is where she and her siblings were apportioned plots by her mother. “I started developing in 1991 and that is when the Kgabo Commission came through and people’s houses were demolished. They asked me not to develop because I am a squatter but structural developments were already in place.

I told them I have nowhere to go but they said I should go and stay with my mother,” Setlalekgosi narrated.  “I explained that I am married and cannot stay with my mother. We then got involved in protracted dispute over the land. Kgosi Dihutso of Mogoditshane once heard our dispute but no agreement was reached”, she said.Setlalekgosi said she later developed the plot because it was given to her by her mother. She then applied in 1993 to be allocated and in 1994 the Kweneng Land-Board promised to allocate her. That same year when she inquired she was told her records were missing and there was way how she could be allocated the plot and be issued with a certificate. “Then they re-surfaced in 2004, when now they started demolishing houses in my neighbourhood but left my house. I started going to Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board every day to enquire about my allocation but was sent from pillar to post.

A Few months down the line I was told a decision had been taken to demolish my house.” In 2013 Mogoditshane Sub-Land Board called her to their office and “said they would not allocate me the plot because I have another plot in Molepolole.” According to her the said plot belongs to her husband which he inherited from his parents. She noted that in March 2014 Kweneng Land Board summoned her to their office. “When I got there I was told I have to move from my Tsolamosese plot because they wanted to allocate people that land. I told them I am not going anywhere this is the only place I call home. Mid this year they came back with the same story and I have since indicated that until they avail my records for all these years they should forget about me leaving this area”, she fumed. Kweneng Land Board Principal Public Relations Officer, Simon Paledi had not responded to the questionnaire sent to him on the 22nd September 2015.