US embassy cable - 05GABORONE1046

UNCLAS  GABORONE 001046 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR MUNCY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, BC, SAN/CKGR Relocation 
SUBJECT: SAN ALLEGE TORTURE BY WILDLIFE OFFICIALS 
 
REFERENCE: (A) Gaborone 913  (B) Gaborone 
              (C) Gaborone 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  Five residents of Kaudwane, one of the 
villages to which residents of the Central Kalahari Game 
Reserve (CKGR) were relocated, have alleged that Department 
of Wildlife and National Parks officials tortured them 
earlier this year.  Although the GOB has denied these 
allegations, PolOff encountered some accounts that supported 
their claims during a July 21-22 visit to Kaudwane.  The 
GOB's investment in physical infrastructure, education and 
other assistance for the residents of Kaudwane 
notwithstanding, its relationship with them is largely 
characterized by fear and resentment.  Mission will continue 
to encourage the Government to find a more consultative 
approach to remote area development and will work with civil 
society to identify and support groups that could represent 
the San in such discussions.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SAN MEN ALLEGE TORTURE FOR KILLING AN ELAND 
 
2.  On July 22, PolOff met with two of three Kaudwane 
residents who claimed to have been tortured by officials of 
the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). 
According to these gentlemen, DWNP came to question them one 
day in early June (they could not remember the specific 
date) about reports that they had killed an eland, a legally- 
protected species.  After they repeatedly denied having done 
so and pointed out the absence of any evidence of their 
guilt, the men said they were tied by their ankles to a 
pole, hung up side down, and kicked and punched about the 
head and torso.  DWNP officials then reportedly locked them 
in a cell of the local police (not to be confused with the 
Botswana Police Service) where they reportedly were kept 
overnight and for most of the following day without food. 
On the evening of the second day, they were released.  The 
following morning they went to the small clinic in Kaudwane 
for medical attention.  DWNP officials met them there and 
took them for more questioning but did not abuse them 
further.  They released the men later that day. 
 
3.  Although PolOff found no definitive evidence to refute 
or confirm these allegations, statements of individuals who 
had seen the men shortly after the incident lent credibility 
to their account.  One of three health care providers at the 
clinic in Kaudwane said that she had not treated the men but 
had noticed one of them limping after the day of the alleged 
abuse.  Another told PolOff that the local police had made 
arrangements to carry the men to the nearest hospital - 
although the alleged victims indicated that they still had 
not been to the hospital six weeks after their questioning. 
The chief of the village, the Remote Area Development 
Officer, and a University of Botswana academic who happened 
to have visited Kaudwane shortly after the alleged incident 
all told PolOff that they had seen the men bruised and 
swollen following their questioning. 
 
4.  When the men tried to lodge a complaint with the local 
police, the officers told them that the matter was beyond 
their jurisdiction.  They then contacted Ditshwanelo, a 
human rights organization, which brought them to Gaborone 
and arranged for them to meet with an attorney.  Alice 
Mogwe, director of that organization, told PolOff that an 
attorney has notified the GOB of their intent to press 
charges. 
 
5.  After the men returned to Kaudwane, a committee of 
government employees came in early July to investigate the 
matter.  They interviewed the alleged victims, the local 
police, and officers of the DWNP.  Although no local police 
officers were in the village when PolOff visited, he met 
DWNP officials who denied that any abuse had occurred.  No 
one had heard of any results of this investigation. 
 
SECOND ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE FOR POACHING 
 
6.  In a separate account, two other Kaudwane residents 
claimed to have been beaten by DWNP officers around the same 
time as the incident described above.  One of the two told 
PolOff that DWNP officials came to his hut and took him away 
to question him about the killing of an eland.  He claimed 
to have been made to assume a push-up position with his 
fists on bricks and then was allegedly kicked and beaten on 
the ribs.  His friend, who was questioned over the same dead 
eland, said he was chained to a vehicle and beaten.  The 
DWNP officers, he explained, had handcuffed his right hand 
to his left ankle, left hand to right ankle and then chained 
him the front of a Toyota Land Cruiser before beating him. 
Then they dropped him onto the ground.  Both claimed that 
the DWNP officers made them run behind the vehicle as it 
drove from the remains of the eland to the DWNP camp.  The 
 
two were then taken to a magistrate court and charged with 
poaching. 
 
7.  One of these men produced a form from his visit to the 
clinic following the incident, which said that he had been 
"beaten."  He had not attempted to register a case with the 
local police, however.  Why, he asked, should he have 
expected assistance from those who had kept him in custody 
until the DWNP officials could carry him to the magistrate? 
 
GOVERNMENT DENIES TORTURE ALLEGATIONS 
 
8.  After the allegations became public on July 1, the 
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, 
Wildlife and Tourism denied them categorically.  On July 22, 
the Office of the President issued a statement quoting from 
a draft report of the investigation committee further 
refuting the claims.  It asserted that the alleged victims 
specifically denied any abuse (contrary to what they told 
PolOff on July 22), that the nurse had found no signs of 
abuse (although four different witnesses had described their 
injuries and one had a form from the clinic saying he had 
been "beaten"), and that local police had seen no evidence 
of abuse (although they reportedly had made arrangements for 
the men to visit a hospital).  According to the Office of 
the President, the draft report concluded that the 
allegations were baseless. 
 
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND GOVERNMENT TENSE 
 
9.  The torture allegations, whether true or not, were 
consistent with the generally fearful and resentful attitude 
residents appeared to have toward the Government.  The 
village chief, and his recently resigned father, told PolOff 
in separate conversations that the GOB had failed to fulfill 
its promises to those who left the CKGR.  Although they had 
received cattle as compensation for leaving their homes, 
they continued to suffer from unemployment and poverty.  A 
community-based natural resource management project, which 
might provide some income generating opportunities, had been 
put off since 1999.  They claimed that DWNP officers 
generally "harassed" residents and described the Remote Area 
Development Officer as lackadaisical. 
 
10.  Village residents complained to PolOff that only those 
who had left behind a hut in the CKGR received destitute 
rations from the Government.  This meant that anyone who had 
lived with a parent inside the CKGR, could not qualify for 
such assistance on their own although at least three years 
had passed (more for some) and they might now be adults. 
This same rule applied to those for whom an NGO working on 
contract for the District Council could construct a one- 
room, cinder-block house.  According to the newly-appointed 
chief, the Social and Community Development Officer had 
indicated her intention to further reduce the number of 
residents eligible to receive such assistance in Kaudwane. 
 
11.  Access to natural resources also posed a problem in the 
village.  Residents told PolOff that they could hunt rarely 
because wildlife was sparse outside the reserve.  Several 
families had left the village proper to establish compounds 
on its outskirts in order to have easier access to firewood. 
This centrifugal movement eventually will bring them up 
against the cattle posts and ranches that surround the 
village.  A DWNP officer assigned to the Kaudwane camp for 
the last six years wondered aloud about the wisdom of 
locating the village where it has no room to expand. 
Although she asserted that residents exaggerated the 
scarcity of wildlife outside the reserve, she acknowledged 
that hunting required much more time and effort than it 
would inside the reserve, where animals congregate at pans. 
 
SAN CONTINUE TRICKLING BACK INTO CKGR 
 
12.  Rather than receive more assistance, some - but not all 
- interlocutors in Kaudwane told PolOff they would prefer to 
return to the CKGR.  They confirmed that some had done so 
earlier this year and many more would have joined them had 
it not been for sparse rains.  The outgoing chief opined 
that those who wish to go back should be able to do so.  He 
would advise young people, however, to continue with their 
education in Kaudwane.  This was consistent with the 
frequently-expressed desire to retain the San traditional 
lifestyle while having access to education and enjoying the 
right to chose for themselves how to marry their customs 
with modernity. 
 
COMMENT: LOCAL LEADERSHIP NEEDED 
 
13.  As a group of Kaudwane residents observed to PolOff, 
they clearly needed someone to defend and promote their 
 
interests.  Mission has in the past attempted to fund 
conferences to establish such a body and has reached out to 
potential partners to reiterate that offer.  We will 
continue to look for other actors with which to collaborate 
on means to support a dialogue between the San and the 
Government on a mutually acceptable path toward development 
and prosperity.  On his departure calls (refs B and C), 
former Ambassador Huggins called on the GOB to address the 
San issue.  Mission will continue to monitor this issue 
closely and will raise the torture allegations with the 
Office of the President at an early date. 
AROIAN 
 
 
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