Brutal development agenda by political panjandrums in Botswana: How CKGR evictions massacred the native citizens (Basarwa) through HIV/AIDS

Abstract

The political and economic empowerment of Basarwa in Botswana has never generated a lot of interest in the manner it did following their eviction from Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Most human rights organisations, amongst them Survival International, did bring to the center stage the evictions of Basarwa from Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). CKGR was established for Basarwa by the British government in 1961 and they have stayed in the area since. The evictions of Basarwa from CKGR culminated into various arguments been generated by governments and NGOs, which were for and against. The government of Botswana advanced that its actions were encouraged by its desire to protect environmental resources and ameliorate the living conditions of Basarwa. The narratives against the government of Botswana centred on the counter argument that the government wanted to start diamond mining following prospecting. What comes out clearly is that Basarwa were not sufficiently consulted before their evictions from CKGR nor were they given any knowledge on HIV/AIDS. This article argues that the government of Botswana did not consult Basarwa before evicting them from CKGR and its actions resulted in Basarwa getting infected with HIV/AIDS. The Basarwa communities have experienced increased mortality, which can be attributed to their unlawful evictions by the Government of Botswana from their ancestral land. The position that the government of Botswana took to evict Basarwa from CKGR without first educating them on HIV/AIDS was never advanced even during the case that Basarwa had against the government of Botswana. It is important to note that Basarwa got infected by HIV and some have since died from AIDS as a result of their unconstitutional eviction from CKGR that was masterminded and carried out by the government of Botswana.

Keywords: Botswana, Basarwa, HIV/AIDS, evictions, Central Kalahari Game Reserve.