Khama fingers Autlwetse in royal infighting :: Mmegi Online

In his founding affidavit in a case in which he and his uncles have whisked government to court over dis-allowance of using the kgotla, former president Ian Khama states that since the end of his second term as President of Botswana in 2019, the Bagammangwato tribe’s right to use the kgotlakgolo, as a traditional public forum for the discussion of matters concerning the tribe and, as a consequence, for the enjoyment of the tribe’s freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association has been curtailed.

According to Khama, matters deteriorated when specially elected legislator Kgotla Autlwetse, who lost the Serowe North Constituency in the 2019 General Election, was appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in January 2022.

Justice Chris Gabanagae of the Gaborone High Court is scheduled to preside over a case on Tuesday wherein Bagammangwato royals, led by Khama, are contesting government's denial of access to the Kgotla. The applicants are Khama, Rasebolai Kgamane, Mokhutshwane Sekgoma, Phokontsi Seeletso, Seretse Peter Khama, and the Bagammangwato tribe, represented by the first five applicants.

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