Botswana honors 97-year-old who fought eviction of Indigenous people in Kalahari

Roy Sesana, 97, received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Botswana on October 23, 2026, recognizing his decades of advocacy after he and other San communities successfully challenged their government-mandated removal from Central Kalahari traditional lands. Nearly two decades after the High Court ruling in his favor, Botswana's current president—one of the lawyers who represented the San—has established an interministerial committee to address grievances and approved a plan in September 2026 to restore legally protected land rights to Indigenous communities while maintaining the reserve's protected status.

The government plan was approved in September 2026 and requires implementation; the broader restoration of community rights remains ongoing.