Botswana’s New Committee Signals Possible Return of San to Central Kalahari

In March 2025, Botswana’s president Duma Boko, a former human‑rights lawyer who had represented San communities, announced an interministerial committee to review the status of the San people in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The committee will examine past relocations, land claims, cultural rights and the feasibility of allowing San communities to return to their ancestral lands. This follows a 2006 High Court ruling that declared the San had been unlawfully deprived of possession of their land, a decision that did not resolve the broader issue of indigenous land rights. The new government’s initiative comes after a 2024 change in leadership that opened the door to a different approach. The committee has already begun consultations with affected residents, marking the first step toward potentially restoring legally protected rights to the San.