Another kind of genocide is to place an indigenous tribe in a protected reserve, where outsiders are not allowed to visit them. Like in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. At the end of the 19th century, the government started to remove the San from the CKGR. (Later it turned out that diamonds had been found and it seemed possible to extract shale gas) A number of San were granted a permit to stay in the CKGR because they had won a lawsuit against their eviction. Only those involved in the lawsuit (ca. 183) were given this permit. Children under the age of 18 did not need a permit, but as soon as they turned 18 they had to apply for a permit to visit their family. Tourists are allowed to enter the CKGR with a special permit and a guide appointed by the government, but are not allowed to visit the San. Camping fields have been laid out for them.

Because I was not a tourist, I entered the CKGR on April 4, 2012 with three others. To prevent difficult questions from being asked, we had given as overnight stays two camping fields. On April 10, just before dark, we were found with the San and ordered to move to the nearest camping spot, and leave the CKGR the day after. At the exit we received a loud abusive speech, while the police and CKGR supervisors were present. I explained that we came to provide assistance and was outraged by the way we were being treated.

Back in the Netherlands I applied for a special permit at the Botswana Embassy in Brussels, for a next trip.

Recalling the Pope's visit to Canada, where he apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church to the indigenous citizens for the genocide committed by the Catholic mission. And apologies offered by other groups to other people for the injustice they have done to them. I think it would be good to ask the Botswana government to apologize to the San for taking their land, exploiting them, oppressing them and trying to destroy their culture. And to stop it immediately.
Genocide comes in all shapes and sizes. One of them is taking children away from their parents and culture. First there were schools for the San in the settlements in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which were closed and children were taken by truck to boarding schools in the New Xade and Kaudwane relief camps, just outside the CKGR. Later by bus. There, the children were bullied by fellow students and staff because of their being different. They were brought home for the school holidays.
One place where the San and other minority groups can live relatively safe is D'Kar, in Gantsi district.

Quote from Botswana Guardian, April 29, 2022.
Some 35 kilometres east of Gantsi township, lies a tiny village of D’Kar, which amongst other things, is famous for being home to outspoken people as well as a host to the internationally acclaimed, Koru dance festival, a centre attraction for local and international visitors. The village is in a private farm which belongs to the Dutch Reformed Church ( DRC) and has a population of about 1 668, according to the 2011 census and is easily accessible through the A3 road from Gantsi to Maun. A one kilometer tar road joins the village from the high way, but there is no tarred road in the village.

The inhabitants are predominantly Naro, Herero and Bakgalagadi. The most spoken language is Naro and the dominant religious affiliation is the Reformed Church. D’Kar is the home of the popular Kuru Bushman Museum and Cultural Centre. The museum is focused on the history of the San and includes exhibitions, a craft centre, library and various workshops.
Unfortunately, the Botswana Guardian also reports: "D'Kar: Living in Borrowed Land. Government is considering acquiring the land from the Dutch Reformed Church."

UN report calls for Dikgosi powers to be reduced. Sunday Standard. 22nd July 2022
By Thobo Motlhoka
A new United Nations (UN) report on Botswana has expressed reservations about what it calls extensive criminal jurisdiction and sentencing powers of Dikgosi. The report raises concerns about powers of Dikgosi to impose prison sentences of up to 15 years.
(The Ntlo ya Dikgosi is an advisory body to the Parliament of Botswana. The term comes from Tswana. The House of Chiefs has 35 chiefs, including 8 hereditary kings of the main tribes of Botswana and 22 heads of minor tribes indirectly elected for five years. Wikipedia)
((The San are not represented on this body. Which, as the first natives, they surely ought to be.)
The preliminary report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was released on Friday following an official two week visit to Botswana from July 4-15, 2022.
The report says while the ability of the customary courts to swiftly deliver community-based resolution and reconciliation is commendable, the Working Group has serious reservations as to their extensive criminal jurisdiction and sentencing powers. Read more:
https://www.sundaystandard.info/un-report-calls-for-dikgosi-powers-to-be-reduced/

News. Eswatini.
Swaziland News. 27 July 2022. JUNIOR POLICE OFFICERS: “Demonstrate leadership, give us a command on how we can assist in removing Mswati. Read more: https://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=2811

Continuation of 23 July 2022.
SWALIMO President meets another British MP, lobby for international support on eSwatini struggle for democracy. Thursday, 14th July, 2022. By Nokwanda Mamba
LONDON: SWALIMO President Mduduzi 'Magawugawu' Simelane, has on Thursday,met with British Labour Party Member of Parliament(MP) Wes Streeting, the British Labour Party as part of his Europe tour to lobby the international community to support the struggle for democracy eSwatini. SWALIMO stands for the Swaziland Liberation Movement, a political organization fighting for democratic reforms in eSwatini.
Speaking to this Swaziland News on Thursday, the SWALIMO President confirmed the meeting with the Labour Party MP at the Royal Society of Medicine offices in London.
“He is an MP from the opposition party here and a shadow Minister for Health.We met and deliberated on the Swazi cancer, which is the regime. He has opened other doors which cannot be disclosed for now but all aimed at helping Swazis to gain their God given freedom,”said the SWALIMO President.
https://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=2762

EU support for Botswana.
The European Union and Botswana enjoy longstanding relations of friendship and cooperation. The first EU office was opened in Gaborone in 1981 and the role of the Delegation was expanded in 1991 when the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat was established in Gaborone. Over these years, the relations with our partners have grown and now cover political relations, security, development cooperation, economic and trade relations and other areas of mutual interest between the EU and Botswana as well as SADC.

EU support for Botswana.
COVID-19 AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Following the onset of the covid-19 crisis, the EU decided to redirect and expand its portfolio to support the government’s response through the following steps:
The EU frontloaded the disbursement of €2 million from the TVET budget support programme (see the section on Education and Skills Development) to provide quick economic relief;
The EU donated €240,000 in protective equipment and medical supplies to the Ministry of Health;
The EU provided approximately €450,000 in grants to support victims of domestic violence and defend the rights of marginalised groups most affected by the pandemic. Moreover, the EU allocated €2 million from other programmes to support the beef and tourism sectors as part of the economic recovery in the immediate wake of the crisis.
Finally, the EU mobilised €1.95 million from ECHO, our humanitarian agency, to WHO and the Red Cross to address needs in the healthcare sector (capacity building of healthcare personnel, support to testing and contact tracing and vaccine roll-out) and to provide humanitarian assistance to food-insecure communities.

EU support for Botswana.
RELATIONS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY
Freedom of association is enshrined in Botswana’s constitution and the right to operate is recognised once an organisation is legally registered with a relevant statute. The majority of organisations are registered as societies or trusts. The last survey for the Civil Society Organisations Map estimated there were around 6,000 CSOs in the country. Less than 15% of NGOs have national coverage, and the majority of them work in one to three districts. Community-based organisations are by their nature local and their main focus is community-based HIV/AIDS support and natural resource management.
Since the EU Delegation’s establishment in Gaborone in 1981, we have channelled over €20 million to support CSOs in Botswana to help them make a meaningful contribution to national development.

News.
Eswatini.
SADC Summit postponed again as King Mswati avoids regional body on eSwatini political crisis. Tuesday, 19th July, 2022. By Zweli Martin Dlamini.
MBABANE: The Southern African Development Community(SADC) Extraordinary Summit on eSwatini political crisis has been postponed again after King Mswati avoided to appear before the regional body that facilitates a political dialogue.
Mswati, an absolute Monarch is currently unleashing his police and soldiers to shoot and kill dozens of civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.
https://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=2780
More in a few days.

EU support Botswana.
BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
PARTNERS IN BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE PROTECTION
The EU supports Botswana in its efforts to preserve its rich wildlife and biodiversity, which are its most important tourist assets as well as global public goods. Supporting conservation efforts goes hand-in-hand with empowering local communities to derive sufficient benefits from the tourism sector.
Since wildlife recognises no borders, the EU also supports a regional approach to conservation through the promotion of cross-border conservation zones and initiatives such as the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area or the Okavango River Basin Commission’s transboundary water and land management efforts.
Botswana’s ecosystems are fragile and vulnerable to the impact of climate change; land degradation and desertification are serious threats. In line with its political commitments in the framework of the international climate agenda, the EU supports Botswana’s efforts to build resilience to the impact of climate change.
Botswana has among the highest solar irradiation levels in the world and a vast solar power potential. At the moment, coal and diesel are virtually the only sources of electricity production in Botswana, which also imports power from South Africa. The EU is poised to back Botswana’s ambitious plans to develop its renewable energy potential in line with its commitments to the Paris Agreement, and to become a net exporter of electricity. The EU has a clear added value in promoting the development of renewable energies based on our know-how, advanced technologies and financing capabilities.

EU Support Botswana.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
The EU has supported Botswana’s education sector since its independence. The current 2019-2023 Support Programme for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Reforms supports development of the TVET system in Botswana. The programme seeks to address the mismatch between the qualifications produced by the education system and the requirements of the labour market, which inhibits private sector development and job creation in Botswana. The programme is increasing the labour market relevant skills of TVET graduates, strengthening the governance of the TVET system, improving the quality and relevance of its programmes, supporting the introduction of TVET in high schools through the implementation of Multiple Education Pathways, and enhancing the transition to the labour market through gender-sensitive work-based learning opportunities. The EU’s contribution to this effort is a budget support operation accompanied by a capacity-building component.

EU support for Botswana.
ECONOMIC AND TRADE RELATIONS
A prosperous partnership.
Botswana and the EU have long-standing economic and trade relations. The European Union is Botswana’s second biggest trading partner after South Africa, with a total volume of €1.71 billion (2021), dominated by Botswana’s exports to the EU, which reached €1.078 billion in 2021. This was mostly made up of diamonds that mainly went to Belgium. Diversifying Botswana’s exports beyond diamonds remains a key challenge for the EU-Botswana trade relation.
While its domestic market is small, Botswana has access to regional markets within the Southern African Customs Union and SADC, as well as international markets in the EU through the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2016, the UK through its Economic Partnership Agreement with SACUM, and in the US through the African Growth Opportunity Act. In addition, Botswana has joined the Tripartite Free Trade Area between the East African Community, COMESA and SADC (not yet in force), and has signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, whose ratification is still pending.
The EU’s share of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Botswana decreased significantly after Brexit, given that the UK was by far the largest source of FDI in Botswana from the EU.
EU27 FDI stock in Botswana amounted to €131 million in 2020.
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/botswana/european-union-and-botswana_en?s=85

BRICS support for Botswana.
Development: A key lesson for Botswana. Mmegi. Monday, July 04, 2022. By Solly Rokgomo.
In the modern history of world politics, the BRICS mechanism comprising of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is proving to be a very vital platform for cooperation among the emerging markets and developing countries as these countries have become important engines driving world economic recovery and growth through the South-South Cooperation. All the members of the BRICS countries have a well-established diplomatic relationship with Botswana and have embassies in Botswana.
This group of countries through solid support from all sides have successfully held over 90 meetings and events so far in 2022, covering diverse issues such as politics, security, economic, trade, financial, people-to-people and cultural fields as well as sustainable development and public health.
The highlight of the BRICS in 2022 was the 14th BRICS Summit and the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development that was held from June 23-24. There are some important issues that were raised by the President of People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping during the summit that a developing country like Botswana can learn and intensify its relationship with the mechanism so as to maximise some socio-economic benefits especially in the volatile global economy that has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks during the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development themed Forging High-Quality Partnership for New Era of Global Development, President Xi pointed out that “over the years, developing countries have worked unremittingly to explore development path that is suited for their national realities and to pursue economic and social development and that such efforts have produced remarkable outcomes, today emerging markets and developing countries account for half of the world economy and notable progress has been made in education, social development, culture and many other areas”. Read more: https://www.mmegi.bw/opinion-amp-analysis/development-a-key-lesson-for-botswana/news
As a parting shot, it is very advisable for the government of Botswana to work around the clock to strategically place herself at the forefront of cooperating with the BRICS mechanism in terms of trade, education, sustainable development, health, agriculture, digital technology and others as this kind of cooperation has huge socio-economic benefits in the long-term.

Read from 5 March 2022.
EU support for Botswana.
POLITICAL RELATIONS.
A FOCUS ON THE DEATH PENALTY, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND LGTBIQ+.
EU-Botswana political relations have been stable and characterised by frequent alignment at the international level. Botswana is a constructive ally for the EU in SADC, Africa and at the multilateral level. Our political dialogue takes place regularly and is built on our mutual interest in strengthening our partnership, whose aim is to assist the country to reach its high income status goal. The main issues on the agenda of the last dialogues were political developments in Botswana and the Southern Africa region, the EU’s partnership for economic diversification in Botswana, and human rights.
The EU and its member states are in favour of a broad public debate in Botswana on the abolition of the death penalty. We have suggested that a moratorium be established as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty. Read more: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/botswana/european-union-and-botswana_en?s=85

Read from 5 March 2022.
BURS (Botswana Unified Revenue Service) rakes in P8.6 billion over two months as mining sparkles. Read more:
https://www.mmegi.bw/business/burs-rakes-in-p86bn-over-two-months-as-mining-sparkles/news

When it comes to corruption/wrong decisions, the Netherlands is not inferior to the rest of the world. Examples of this are becoming increasingly well known. The English solution for someone who has no money is their saying: "Beg, steal or borrow." After the song with this title by The New Seekers. This seems to have been followed up en masse. By people who have no money, and by people who have enough money, but who hoard it because they are afraid that money will run out.
We began to have doubts about our assistance. Were our offers maybe a bit too short-sighted? The evidence that this possibility already existed, I found in the research report by Jenny R. Lawy: "Theorizing voice (identity): Performativity, politics and listening.": To prepare this report, she had a conversation with a San man in his office in Botswana's capital Gaborone. While he was on the phone, she read in a magazine that lay on the floor: "If you want easy money, ask a Non-Government Organization, they don't ask hard questions." SEMK Botswana is a Non Governmental Organization. Then it became clear to me why we were seen as a bag of money. The repeated demands from a Botswana organization for more funds became too much for me and I said: We are not a bag of money." "I thought you were my mother." "I think so too, but this answer I also give to my children when they ask me for money too often." End of conversation.

https://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=2678
Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala pays back only R200,000.00 defrauded public funds.
Thursday, 23rd June, 2022. By Zweli Martin Dlamini.
MBABANE:Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala was not arrested despite clear evidence suggesting that he defrauded Government over R1million in housing allowances, instead, documentation was secretly prepared where he committed to pay back only two hundred thousand Rands(R200,000.00).
The highly corrupt CJ was exposed by this Swaziland News Investigation Unit, he was benefiting fifteen thousand Rands(R15,000.00)every month as housing allowance despite being allocated a house at the Judges Complex at Thembelihle, Mbabane.
Documents sourced from the Government payment system suggest that the CJ started paying back one hundred and ninety-six thousand, one hundred and thirty-two Rands, fifty-one cents(R196,132.51)with installments of three thousand, two hundred and sixty eight Rands, eighty-eight cents(ZAR3,268.88).
Analyses of CJ Bheki Maphalala’s June 2022 pay-slip suggest that he started paying back the money on the same month and the housing allowance of R15,048.53 has been stopped.
It has been disclosed that the alleged defrauded ‘re-payment’ is recorded as “overpayment of salary” in the Government documents.
A government official who was working closely on the matter said after being exposed by this publication, the Chief Justice agreed to pay back the said amount even though it was far less than what he allegedly defrauded.
“He is paying back the R200,000.00 even though it is far less than what he allegedly defrauded. The problem here is that we don’t know the exact date when he started occupying the house, that’s why he agreed on this amount,” said the Government insider.
A questionnaire was sent to Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
On another note, the documents suggest that Maphalala will pay the installments of R3,268.88 for a period of sixty(60)months and or five(5) years,it is not clear if he would still be the Chief Justice by that time.
Reached for comments,human rights Thulani Maseko,the Chairperson of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum said the criminal justice system was supposed to act on these serious allegations of fraud against the Chief Justice.
“Failure to do so, only means the integrity and dignity of the justice system is compromised.What you are talking about is only but one issue around the integrity of the Chief Justice, we know that even the Law Society has lots of complaints against the sitting Chief Justice. So we need to look at this in the context of all other issues around the conduct of the Chief Justice and whether or not, given these allegations, the Chief Justice is fit to continue occupying the seat as the Head of the Judiciary,” said the Chairperson of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum.
End of quotation.
Well, is this corruption or an administrative error by the government, which has been overlooked by the Chief Justice?