The Bogosi Act is a piece of
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
that defines the office of ' or "
chieftainship" among Botswana's various tribes. The act was written in response to the
Balopi Commission recommendation that the
Constitution of Botswana
The present Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
Background
Before colonial rule was established in Botswana, a traditional constitution - a body of laws known as - was used by tribal chiefs, or diKgosi, of the Botswana pe ...
replace all references of the word "chief" to the
Setswana
Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zon ...
word ''
kgosi''. The Bogosi Act replaces the earlier
Chieftainship Act of 1987.
History
Outcry from minority tribes in Botswana such as the
Wayeyi pushed President
Festus Mogae to create the
Balopi Commission on 28 July 2000 to investigate tribal discrimination. The commission found that the structure of the
House of Chiefs of Botswana, later renamed ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'', "tended to be discriminatory".
In response, the Bogosi Bill was passed, creating the Bogosi Act.
Content
The Bogosi Act defines the institution of ''bogosi'' or tribal chieftainship. A ''
kgosi'' (plural: dikgosi) is the tribal leader and has the following functions:
*to exercise his or her powers under this Act to promote the welfare of the members of his or her tribe;
*to carry out any lawful instructions given to him or her by the Minister;
*to convene
kgotla
A ''kgotla'' (English pronunciation or ) is a public meeting, community council, or traditional law court of a Botswana village. It is usually headed by the village chief or headman, and community decisions are always arrived at by consensus. H ...
meetings to obtain advice as to the exercise of his or her functions under this Act;
*to arrange tribal ceremonies;
*to preside over cases in terms of the warrant of his or her court issued under the Customary Courts Act; and
*to perform such other functions as may be conferred on him or her by or under this Act or any other enactment.
The dikgosi of the eight main Batswana tribes automatically become members of the
Ntlo ya Dikgosi
The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' ( Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in Botswana is an advisory body to the country's parliament.[Parliament of Botswana
The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly. In contrast to other Parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly (instead of having both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister who has ...]
.
Reaction
The act has been criticised by tribal leaders because of the limitations on the powers of a kgosi. In 2010
Kgosi Kgafela IIof the Kgatla tribe was accused of flogging, but he argued that dikgosi have immunity to the state's jurisdiction. The Botswana High Court dismissed the case on 11 May 2011, claiming that "dikgosi cannot act outside the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
and laws prescribed by Parliament when all other functionaries of the state act within the statutory limitations." To avoid the legal costs of the case, Kgafela moved to
Moruleng
Saulspoort (also known as Moruleng) is a village at the northern foot of the Pilanesberg, about 65 km north of Rustenburg. It was named after a former baKgatla chief, Tsheole, called Saul by the early settlers.
It was established when Henr ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
See also
*
Balopi Commission
*
Ntlo ya Dikgosi
The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' ( Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in Botswana is an advisory body to the country's parliament.[Kgosi
A (; ) is the title for a hereditary leader of a Tswana people, Batswana tribe.
Usage
The word "kgosi" is a Tswana language, Setswana term for "king" or "chief". Various affixes can be added to the word to change its meaning: adding the prefix ...]
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Full textof the Bogosi Act
Chieftainship Act the act that the Bogosi Act replaced
2008 in Botswana
2008 in law
Law of Botswana
Government of Botswana