Exiles from the Kalahari

In December 2006 the Bushmen of the Kalahari won an historic court case against the government of Botswana that upheld their right to live inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The court found that the government evictions of Bushmen from the CKGR, which began many years before, were ‘unconstitutional’ and that the they should not be prevented from returning. These photographs document the first convoy of exiled Busmen to go back to their homes in the CKGR after the court ruling.

Commissioned by Guardian Weekend Magazine

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Stormclouds over the Kalahari.

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Toiwa Sethogwe, in the New Xade resettlement camp, waiting to return home.

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At the monthly food distribution in New Xade the mainly illiterate Bushmen sign a rosta with a thumbprint before collecting their allocated provisions.

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A young man drinks locally brewed beer in a "Shibeen" (bar) in New Xade. Many younger bushmen have embraced hip-hop culture but still want to be able to return to the CKGR.

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Kgwatiso Gaorapelee, New Xade.

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Xhrema Phuti, New Xade.

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A woman struggles with a heavy suitcase as the first convoy of Bushmen prepares to leave
New Xade to return to the CKGR.

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The first Bushmen prepare to leave New Xade to return to the CKGR after a court judgement ruled
their eviction "unconstitutional".

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An old leaf-spring from a 4X4 suspension propped against a hut wall in New Xade.

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The first convoy of Bushmen to attempt to return to the CKGR is held at the gate to the reserve by game wardens.

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A Bushmen family wakes to their first dawn inside the CKGR for five years.

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Shadows inside a bushman hut in Metsiamenong, one of the Bushmen villages inside the CKGR.

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Kgatiso Tshokodiso, Metsiamenong.

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Bushmen in Molapo, a settlement inside the CKGR, greet family members and friends who have just returned from exile in New Xade.

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A Bushman who has just returned to the CKGR idly runs the sand of the Kalahari through his fingers
for the first time in five years.

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Butterfly drinking tea in Metsiamenong.

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Keshapiwa Gaoberekwe, Metsiamenong.

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A group of Bushmen set off on a nine hour round trip to fetch water from outside the CKGR. These journeys have become necessary since the government denied the Bushmen access to boreholes inside the reserve.

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A bushman and his donkeys inside the CKGR. Without a 4x4 donkeys provide the only method of transport and are used to fetch water from sources that can be up to a day's walk away. The Bushmen have been offically denied permission to keep livestock inside the reserve.

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Young children in Metsiameneng drink water from a distant borehole. Access to water sources closer to the village has been denied by the government.

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Mongwegi Gaoberekwe, Metsiamenong.

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Kuwe Belesa, Metsiamenong.

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A bushman family, one of the very few to remain in the CKGR during the evictions, discuss the campaign for services inside the reserve around the night's fire.

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Bushman huts destroyed after forced evictions in Molapo.