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Bushmen appeal for legal costs
5 December 2007
The Kalahari Bushmen applied in Botswana’s High Court today for leave to
appeal for the Botswana government to pay their legal costs.
Last December, the Bushmen won their landmark case against the government. The
court ruled that the government’s eviction of the Bushmen was ‘unlawful and
unconstitutional’.
Two of the three judges presiding over the eviction case ruled that the
Bushmen and the government must share the costs, despite the Bushmen’s win.
The judge in today’s hearing has reserved his decision, but if he decides in
their favour, the Bushmen will appeal for the government to pay all the costs.
The government has failed to uphold the 2006 ruling, and one year after the
Bushmen’s historic victory, most remain stranded in resettlement camps. The
Bushmen have announced that they will launch a new case against the government
if it continues to prevent them from returning home.
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
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