The Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) former parliamentary candidate for Gaborone Central, Rev. Dr. Rupert Hambira, has thrown a spanner into the works of an already combustible conflict centered on the multi-million Pula Ipelego trust.
In a letter seen by this publication addressed to Bakgatla Ba Ga Mmanaana Kgosi Oscar Mosielele, Hambira registers his formal complaint regarding what he terms the loss of his one-hectare piece of prime land adjacent to the Hika La Ngwanyana dam. He states in the complaint that the land was taken from him under a pretext of developments which have not yet materialized.
Furthermore, Hambira states that when his parcel was taken from him, he was not satisfied with the process by which it was done, nor with the manner in which his concerns were handled afterward.
“I wish to formally register my complaint regarding a one-hectare piece of land which I owned along the banks of the Moshupa dam. The said land was taken from me under the pretext that the area adjacent to the dam was being converted into a community park. While I understood the importance of community development, I was not satisfied with the manner in which the land was taken from me, nor with the way my concerns were handled thereafter,” states Hambira.
The Makopong native further states that in exchange for his stand, he had requested in good faith that he be compensated with alternative agricultural land in the commercial agricultural farms that were at the time being demarcated on the border between the Southern and Kgalagadi Districts.
“I was also promised a piece of land which had earlier been designated for a sports complex in Moshupa,” he states further.
Additionally, he avers that in the end, he was compensated with an unworthy parcel that he was not happy with because of its diminished potential, since it was a far cry from his lucrative dam-side property, noting that he had to incur additional costs of drilling a borehole.
“Although I was eventually given compensation, I was not satisfied with it because I was removed from prime land with ready access to dam water and allocated a piece of land on the far end of the village, where I had to drill a borehole in order to access water,” he said.
In that regard, the former BDP heavyweight and clergyman told Mosielele that it is his wish to see the land revert back to him if it is no longer being used for the originally intended purpose.
“I wish to place it on record that if the land originally taken from me is not being used for the intended purpose of establishing a community park, I respectfully request that it be returned back to me. I strongly feel that justice requires that I either regain ownership of my land or be granted a fair and equitable alternative, as earlier discussed,” he notes.
Hambira’s parcel, together with the free land, was consolidated as part of former President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s local tourism flagship project at the Hika La Ngwanyana site. This publication is, however, informed that at least one stand owner declined to move from his prime riverbank plot.
Hambira’s complaint opens a new front in a raging conflict whose roots go as far back as 2026, peaking in 2024, leaving a trail of ruin in its wake. Among its notable casualties are members of the Bakgatla Ba Ga Mmanaana royal family, who are doing battle on different sides and no longer on talking terms.
The Acting Kgosi Mosielele and his older brother, substantive Kgosi Kgabosetso II Mosielele’s relationship has broken down, with the two communicating through attorneys and rarely calling each other. Last year, Kgabosetso backed down from executing a royal putsch he had engineered, where he wanted to remove Mosielele from his acting position as Kgosi before the intervention of senior royals.
On the other hand, Mosielele and his party, which includes royal uncle Steve Mylon Pheko, have consistently warned Kgabosetso to desist from his relationship with Masisi and his allies, who are trustees of the Ipelego trust, warning that all consequences will fall at his feet.
Meanwhile, when contacted for comment, calls and messages to Hambira’s mobile went unanswered.