UB wades into murky Constitution review debate
The country’s premier institution of learning - the University of Botswana - wading into the controversial discussion around the review of the Constitution of Botswana this Thursday.
According to Thomas Nkhoma, UB’s Public Affairs and Communications Acting Manager, as a premier tertiary institution in Botswana, the UB “bears a significant national responsibility” to contribute to the discussion pertaining to the review of the republic’s Constitution. Through the Department of Law, the UB will host a colloquium at the UB Conference Centre to deliberate on its contribution to the ongoing discussion pertaining to the review of the Constitution of Botswana.
As a premier tertiary institution in Botswana, the University of Botswana bears a significant national responsibility to contribute to the discussion pertaining to the review of the Constitution of Botswana. Nkhoma added that the need to take part in this exercise also derives from the university’s vision to be a leading centre of academic excellence in Africa and the world, as well as its mission to improve economic and social conditions for Batswana while advancing itself as a distinctively African university with a regional and international outlook. At the end of the colloquium, recommendations will be compiled into a position paper to be submitted to the constitutional review commission.
Renowned professors of law Bojosi Otlhogile and Kenneth Acheampong will tackle hefty topical issues such as ‘Direct Election and nature of the Presidency’ and ‘Constitutional Review in Botswana: A jurisprudential Plea for the Inclusion of Socio-Economic Rights in the Constitution’ respectively. A host of renowned presenters including Dr. Onkemetse Tshosa, Prof. Andy Chebanne, and Prof. JR Austin de Drouillard; Dr. Elizabeth Macharia-Mokobi; Prof Tachilisa Balule, and many others, are lined up to simplify complex legal jargon around The Place of International law in national law; Fundamental Human Rights and Individual Rights; Death Penalty and Judicial Corporal Punishment and The Role of Academia in shaping and resolving the National Issues.
UB Chancellor, Tebelelo Seretse will give an overview of the National Constitutional Review Process. The colloquium is part of the UB’s Strategy driven by Vice-Chancellor Prof. David Norris which seeks to reset the University of Botswana as a high-performance organisation.