Since last year, the judiciary has been thrown into turmoil amid judicial interference allegations as the country and legal experts continue to debate on the independence of Botswana courts. With litigation being thrown at the Chief Justice (CJ) Terrence Rannowane, Mmegi staffer SHARON

MATHALA sat down with the CJ in this interview as he shares his views on the state of the judiciary, his successes and challenges

Rannowane was appointed to the highest seat of the High Court of Botswana back in April 2018 by President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Since then, he has been a busy man. Rannowane’s first real challenge arrived post the 2019 General Election as the court tackled petitions brought about by the main opposition party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).

But the judicial crisis exploded into the public domain last year when there was a complaint and allegations made by a judge ( Justice Gaopalelwe Ketlogetswe) to the effect that the CJ and a Minister of State President, Kabo Morwaeng sought to influence his decision in a case which involved the Lobatse Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Thapelo Matsheka. The Law Society of Botswana (LSB) council released a statement in September 2022 calling on Rannowane to step down. At the opening of the legal year earlier this year, the chairperson of the LSB, Osego Garebamono said the Society and indeed Batswana in general were deeply concerned about the deteriorating state of the Judiciary.

Speaking of the deteriorating state of the Judiciary, some cases are still before the court and Rannowane maintains there is peace.

“I am the first to admit that there were some disagreements or litigation in the judiciary which escalated into the public space. Whilst the ongoing litigation may cause some concern, this must be viewed in the context of our robust legal system and processes,” the CJ shared.

According to him, the cases further confirm, “the right of recourse and access to our courts, their station in life notwithstanding, the cases also attest to the fact as a mature and well-functioning democracy. Citizens are conscious of their rights and the fact that in Botswana anyone can sue or be sued regardless of his or her public standing. I state without hesitation that our judiciary is independent and the public has confidence in it and that’s why they litigate in it”.

Asked to comment on the statistics which show that Batswana have lost confidence in the courts, Rannowane maintains this is not true. “I am sure Batswana still have confidence in our judiciary, otherwise they would not be coming in such large numbers to register their cases,” he maintained.

The CJ further says he maintains an open-door policy. He pointed out that he urges all stakeholders, both internal and external, that his door is always open for harmonious discussions of all issues.

“We can achieve more if we all work together than when we are fighting. Let’s work together for the greater good of the organisation and country,” he said.

Speaking on some of his milestones, the CJ says he has been able to change and establish performance standards. “I have established performance standards which are reduced to law and can be enforced. We are probably the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa with such written performance standards.” Rannowane shared and further gave an example of such performance standards that all judgements in Botswana are to be delivered within 90 days whilst summary judgments have been given a two-week period.

Perhaps, his most notable achievement the CJ says, he issued a practice directive in relation to resolving tender disputes that ordinarily took longer to achieve.

“I have improved the use of doing business in Botswana by issuing a practice directive that issues relating to tender disputes must be treated as urgent applications and be expedited so that development projects are not delayed. I have established special courts dealing with Gender Based Violence (GBV), stock theft and expanded small claims court to more places. I intend to do more to transform the Administration of Justice,” he said.

Close to home, the CJ says he has put in place a masters training programmes for Magistrates and also improve transport for judges to BMWs from the Volvo sedans, “which had perennial mechanical faults and were costing government a lot of money in repairs.”

On his challenges he found within the Administration of Justice, Rannowane says there were a few challenges such as manpower and resource constraints, limited bandwidth to enable access to internet particularly in courts located in rural areas and IT equipment shortages. He shared that the most difficult challenge they had to face was the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic with concomitant social distancing. “We had to strike a sensitive balance between the need for service continuity and compliance with the COVID-19 restrictions.”

On the legacy he would like to leave behind, the CJ envisions a world class Judiciary by the year 2036.

“These will include but not limited to access to justice by all, digitalisation of court processes and establishment of special courts to deal with special cases,” he said in conclusion.