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Botswana: Wayeyi Chief Joins Ntlo Ya Dikgosi
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008
Bame Piet
Just three days before he left office, former president Festus Mogae appointed Bayeyi Shikati Fish Matepe Ozoo of Nokaneng Vilage to the Ntlo ya Dikgosi or House of Chiefs.
"In exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 77 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Botswana, His Excellency, Festus Mogae, has appointed you as a Member of Ntlo ya Dikgosi.
"This appointment is with immediate effect," a letter from Minister of Local Government Margaret Nasha, reads. The letter is dated March 27, 2008, and was addressed to Ozoo and copied to Batawana regent Kgosi Kealetile Moremi. Bayeyi are among ethnic groups that have been agitating for representation in the Ntlo ya Dikgosi.
They also want autonomy from Batawana whom they said have overshadowed them for a long time. When the Ntlo ya Dikgosi membership was expanded from 15 to 35 two years ago to include other tribes, Bayeyi were excluded.
The expansion of the Ntlo ya Dikgosi is a result of the recommendations of the Balopi Commission that toured the country, consulting the nation on the proposed amendments to sections 77, 78, and 79 of the Constitution of Botswana that were deemed not to be tribally neutral. The commission followed a motion by Sebina/Gweta Member of Parliament (MP) Olifant Mfa calling for the amendments.
Meanwhile, Coordinator of Kamanakao Association Professor Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo has hailed Ozoo's appointment as a "deserved step in the long journey towards the ideal".
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She said that they appreciate what government has done. She revealed that Ozoo was installed Wayeyi chief in Gumare in March 2005, replacing Kgosi DL Samagabadi who took over the throne after the death of Shikati Calvin Kamanakao in 2003.
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