An appeals court in Botswana has ruled that indigenous Bushmen can drill wells (bore brønde) for water in the Kalahari desert, BBC online reports Thursday
The court said the Basarwa Bushmen could use an existing well on their traditional land in the Kalahari Game Reserve, and excavate (udgrave) new wells.
The decision overturned a ruling made last July that took away the Basarwa’s rights to drill for water. The new ruling also criticised the government’s treatment of the Basarwa as “degrading (nedsættende)”.
The court judgement is a remarkable victory for the Botswana Basarwa Bushmen, who have been embroiled in a long-running legal battle to return to their traditional land and way of life.
Diamonds have been discovered in the Kalahari Game Reserve, although the government insists that was not the reason it ordered the bushmen to be resettled outside the reserve.
The Kalahari has been the bush-men’s home for tens of thousands of years. In 2006 the Basarwa won the right to return and to hunt without permits, but many of them still live outside the reserve.
Water tankers, which used to serve the community, no longer enter the reserve, BBC notes.
