court found that customary law offended against Section 3 of the Constitution of Botswana on equal protection of the law. In the watershed case that was celebrated internationally, customary law was tossed aside for discriminating against women purely on the basis of their sex by singling out the lastborn son “as instestate heir to the exclusion of his siblings”. But if women are regarded as the soft underbelly of society that needs to be protected, children and the youth are much more vulnerable. For that reason, Kewagamang was both professionally and personally involved when it emerged in May last year that a local councillor had impregnated a teenager in Sebina. She took “the biggest risk of my life” when she and others mounted the #IshallNotForget campaign in an effort to protect children against sexual marauders. Several of them were detained - though briefly - as they stood with protest placards at key intersections around Gaborone, but Kewagamang believes their point was made. The firm is at the forefront of labour issues in a country where organised labour is viewed with circumspection – even distaste – and this could have repercussions. Kewagamang is aware of the possibility of such an outcome but is unfazed because the firm receives a fair share of government business, especially consultancies. “Up to 30% of our consultancy work has come from the government,” she says. “But we get very little litigation work outsourced by the government. “Labour is an area that has evolved to become a key aspect of the firm’s culture. We are keenly aware that when there is bound to be collision when you advance rights. Nevertheless, rights have to be advanced and we are happy that labour rights are becoming entrenched in our country. And this is happening in an environment that has little support in terms of the protest culture that we see in neighbouring countries. It has been a difficult learning curve on both sides, but the future looks quite good for organised labour.” Kewagamang says the firm is unshakable in its human rights orientation. A deliberate decision not to handle hard core criminal cases so as to better play an upright role in society was made early on. “Only 5% of our work load entails criminal cases, and even so nothing of the smoking gun stuff,” she explains. “It is mostly traffic offences. This dovetails well into her background in pro bono work at UB Legal Clinic, as well as her involvement with Somarelang Tikologo where she is a board member and at Ntebogang Junior Secondary School in Kanye where the firm encourages good grades by means of prizes. Because of her zest for progressive work, this woman is a part of Trust Law Connect that helps NGOs access lawyers internationally. So far an exception to the rule on giving a wide berth to criminal cases has been the forbidding matter of John Kalafatis, a young man of Greek extraction who was gunned down gangland style one May night in Gaborone in 2009. Kewagamang describes that episode as “the lowest point in Botswana’s democracy” and one that prompted Batswana, an otherwise passive lot, to express their outrage and take a stand on the side of due process and the rule of law. “We have systems for a reason,” she notes. “While some people say Kalafatis was a criminal, we don’t know that because he was charged and tried. It becomes something else when anyone is killed by an organ of the government.’’ Soldiers Goitsemang Sechele, Ronny Matako and Boitshiko Maifala were ultimately convicted of the murder of Kalafatis in June 2011. However, they received a Presidential Pardon and were eventually reinstated, prompting protestation from Ditshwanelo and nationwide dismay. Kewagamang is among lawyers who got involved at various stages of the case. At another level, Kewagamang is concerned that persistent allegations about the executive arm of government intermeddling in the judiciary will erode confidence in the country’s judicial system. More importantly, she holds that public interviews of candidates before judges were appointed would enhance such confidence. “We do not even know the procedure of appointing judges of the Court of Appeal.” But what does the feminist think of the male – female divide as crystallised by the treat to kill law? “A lot of men do not know how to deal with a strong woman,” she avers. “While empowering women, we left the boy child out and now this boy child does not know how to handle the empowered woman.” Being a social activist, this 36-year old woman is a jurist with a conscience. She is a trustee of Law Fidelity Fund Guarantee, a board member of Legal Aid Botswana, a board member of Somarela Tikologo Environment Watch, and a non- executive director of More Power Investments. Above all, she is a wife and a mother, her marriage to Osego Garebamono, also a lawyer, proving productive in the form of their children, Tawanda and Lefika. Kewagamang wants it known that she is also a farmer through Smartest (Pty) Ltd., a horticulture business that is planning to go into hydroponic farming as well. “We have collaborated with a US franchise in hydroponics,” she explains. “We have already ordered the equipment which we will set up at the farm as a demo facility. The equipment will be for sale.” Hydroponics, she explains, is a method of growing plants without soil. STOP PRESS! On the day that this edition went to press, 19 April 2017, attorney Omphemetse Motumise was on course to be appointed High Court judge, two years after the President Ian Khama turned down a recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission to do so. The Law Society of Botswana and Motumise added another landmark victory at the Court of Appeal for Rantao Kewagamang Attorneys. 24 www.inbusiness.co.bw | <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>12</strong> | 2017
www.inbusiness.co.bw | <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>12</strong> | 2017 25