botswana/namibia - Cour international de Justice

Honourable Chief - "He was buried at Kasika"
(Namibian Memorial, Vol.III, Annex 2, p.208).
486. The evidence of the Chief contradicts the evidence of Christopher Liswani Matondo who
says:
"Me, in Kasikili it's where I was born. My father Matondo it's where he had built his house, I
even know the grave of the Chief of Kasikili and others. Even Chief Moraliswani when he
was born it was in Kasikili. It's where Chief Liswaninyana died and was buried." (Namibian
Memorial, Vol. II, Annex 1, p.136).
487. He was asked if his family had a house in Kasika and he said:
"It's where our parents were staying in Kasika and it's where we were born in Kasika." (ibid.,
p.139).
488. We know from the evidence of Chief Moraliswani that Chief Liswaninyana was buried
at Kasika and indeed, according to tradition, he had to be buried there because it was his
headquarters as Chief.
489. That the evidence of Chief Moraliswani is by far more credible than that of Matondo is
fully supported by the deposition of Maimbolwa Anna Siyanda who says:
"... We decided to go back to Kasika and started ploughing there - it is at Kasika that our chief
is buried." (Namibian Memorial, Vol. II, Annex 1, p.205)
490. This witness had earlier on claimed to have been born at Kasikili but a few minutes later
in cross examination she said she was born at Kasika (ibid., p.210).
(iv) Summary
491. Indeed there could not have been any burial sites on the Island owing to the fact that it is
sometimes submerged. It was found during coring that the saturated zone lies only about 1.5m
below the surface. The sand layer was very highly saturated, making it extremely difficult to
carry out burials under such conditions.
492. Professor Sefe in his Sedimentological Study of Sedudu Island (Appendix 3) says (at
pages 9 and 10, paragraph 8.1.).
"There are references in the Namibian Memorial regarding use of the island for agricultural
purposes. However, during the coring exercise on the island, no evidence in the form of
artefacts, charcoal or bones was found. The coring contractor was specifically instructed to
look out for such objects. Despite a close matrix of 13 holes on an island of less than 4 square
km no such object was found. Neither was evidence of a once cultivated area found on the
island. Furthermore, the surficial materials on the island being an admixture of clay, mud and
silt would be easily water-logged and so difficult to cultivate. Thus if any cultivation ever
took place on the island it would have been on a very limited and rudimentary scale and
would have occurred a very long time ago."