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Botswana bushmen ruling awaited Botswana bushmen win land ruling
(about 1 hour later)
Bushmen from the Kalahari desert are awaiting the full outcome of a court's verdict on whether they were moved illegally from their traditional lands. Bushmen from the Kalahari desert have won a court case in which they accused Botswana's government of illegally moving them from their land.
The Botswanan government rehoused them four years ago. The court said the bushmen - or San people - were wrongly evicted from their ancestral homeland in 2002.
Two of the judges hearing the case have delivered their verdicts - one in favour, one against - with the finding of the third judge still awaited. A panel of three judges ruled by two-to-one in their favour in the major issues in the case.
The case is seen as a wider test of whether governments can legally move people from their ancestral lands.The case is seen as a wider test of whether governments can legally move people from their ancestral lands.
Crowds of the bushmen trekked overland to the court to wait for the verdict.Crowds of the bushmen trekked overland to the court to wait for the verdict.
Botswana's Chief Justice, Maruping Dibotelo, ruled that the case should be dismissed, because the government had not unlawfully deprived the Bushmen of their land. "It's about the right of the applicants to live inside the reserve as long as they want - and that's a marvellous victory," the bushmen's lawyer, Gordon Bennett, said.
But a second judge, Unity Dow, told the court in the town of Lobatse that the Bushmen had not voluntarily left their land. The case was the longest and most expensive in Botswana's history.
The case is the longest and most expensive in Botswana's history.
The government argues that the bushmen abandoned their traditional ways long ago, and have no claim to the area.
'Dispiriting' camps'Dispiriting' camps
The San people brought their case forward after being moved to functional but bleak settlements outside the Kalahari game reserve, where a new way of life was imposed.The San people brought their case forward after being moved to functional but bleak settlements outside the Kalahari game reserve, where a new way of life was imposed.
In pictures: The bushmen But the government says the bushmen do not belong to the Kalahari any more because their lifestyle has changed, and their presence interferes with conservation. In pictures: The bushmen href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4984&edition=1&ttl=20061213110646" class="">Send your comments The government argued that the bushmen did not belong to the Kalahari any more because their lifestyle had changed, and their presence interfered with conservation.
The reserve was a poverty trap that denied them access to health and education, it says, arguing that the bushmen are better off in the settlements, where they have clinics and schools along with better access to food and water. The reserve was a poverty trap that denied them access to health and education, it said, arguing that the bushmen were better off in the settlements, where they had clinics and schools along with better access to food and water.
They also deny allegations that the bushmen were driven out to make way for diamond mining. They also denied allegations that the bushmen were driven out to make way for diamond mining.
The bushmen's lawyer contends that although there are facilities in the camps, there is little for them to do.The bushmen's lawyer contends that although there are facilities in the camps, there is little for them to do.
"Almost everybody is dependent, to a greater or lesser extent, on handouts and that's a rather dispiriting experience," Gordon Bennet says. "Almost everybody is dependent, to a greater or lesser extent, on handouts and that's a rather dispiriting experience," Mr Bennet said.
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