In a landmark judgment delivered at the Gaborone High Court on Tuesday, the court ruled against Gaborone University College of Law and Professional Studies (GUC), effectively barring its law graduates from sitting the Law Society of Botswana (LSB) bar examinations and, by extension, from practising law in the country.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Godfrey Nthomiwa, brings to a close a protracted legal battle that has gripped Botswana’s legal fraternity for months. The case centred on 21 GUC graduates who had challenged the LSB’s refusal to register them for the June 2026 bar examinations, calling the decision unlawful, irrational and unreasonable.
The court sided with the Law Society of Botswana, which had consistently argued that GUC’s law qualifications – offered through a franchise arrangement with the United Kingdom’s Leeds Beckett University – are not recognised under the Legal Practitioners Act of 1996. The Act stipulates that only graduates from the University of Botswana, or from universities listed in the Second Schedule of the Act, qualify for admission as legal practitioners in Botswana.
The LSB contended that although the degrees are awarded by Leeds Beckett University, the programme is delivered entirely at GUC’s campus in Gaborone, making the graduates effectively GUC alumni rather than Leeds Beckett graduates. The Society further questioned the standards and oversight of the franchise programme.
The judgment follows an earlier ruling in April 2026 in which the High Court dismissed a petition by GUC graduate Kagiso Stephens to be admitted as an attorney. In that case, the court found procedural shortcomings, including the applicant’s failure to submit key academic transcripts and legal arguments addressing the Law Society’s objections. GUC had argued at the time that the ruling did not invalidate its qualifications and that the degree remained accredited by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA).
Tuesday’s ruling, however, strikes at the heart of the matter: the eligibility of GUC-trained graduates to enter the legal profession in Botswana. The decision effectively shuts the door on current and prospective GUC law students who hoped to qualify as attorneys through the bar examination route.
GUC has previously defended the credibility of its programme, noting that the partnership with Leeds Beckett University was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding in 2018, and that Leeds Beckett retains full control over curriculum design, assessments and moderation. The institution has also pointed out that its first cohort, which graduated in 2023, successfully completed bar examinations and was admitted to practise before Botswana’s courts before the LSB reversed its position.
The ruling leaves hundreds of self-sponsored and government-supported students in limbo, with their career aspirations in the legal profession now effectively blocked. GUC Director of Academics, Dr Upenyu Chiparo, had previously expressed confidence that the matter would be determined on its merits, while GUC Managing Director Professor Antoney Joseph maintained that the programme meets the standards set out under Section 4 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
In the meantime, the 21 affected graduates must consider their options, including the possibility of appealing the ruling. Three similar petitions from GUC graduates remain pending before judges in Lobatse, and their outcomes may yet shape the final chapter of this dispute.