The San: Southern Africa`s Forgotten People

This situation report by Chris Maroleng describes the marginalisation and forced eviction of the San people, specifically the Gana and Gwi groups, from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. The author argues that the Botswana government is using inhumane tactics, including cutting off water supplies and torture, to remove the San to secure mineral rights to diamond-rich lands, despite constitutional protections and international funding offers from the European Union.

• The San are an aboriginal hunter-gatherer population in Southern Africa with a culture dating back over 20,000 years. While their domain once stretched from the Zambezi to the Cape of Good Hope 10,000 years ago, the remaining estimated 110,000 San now face extinction and live in poverty.
• The government of Botswana is allegedly employing a systematic program to evict the Gana and Gwi San (numbering between 600 and 700) from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). Reported tactics include the use of torture and the termination of essential water supplies as of 18 February 2002.
• Analysts suggest the primary driver for the evictions is a 'clandestine government policy' to prevent the San from claiming mineral rights to diamonds found in the CKGR, an area reserved for the San by the 1966 constitution. This is compounded by a 'racist' attitude from the dominant Tswana ethnic group and the government, with President Mogae describing the San as "Stone Age creatures".
• The Botswana government claims relocation is necessary to provide health care and formal education because it cannot afford services in the reserve, despite the cost being only US$3 per person per week. However, the government reportedly rejected an offer from the European Union (EU) to cover these costs under a 1996 CKGR Management Plan.
• Legal and international opposition to the evictions includes a lawsuit filed on 8 April 2002 by 243 San community members in Botswana's High Court. Additionally, the UN special rapporteur on indigenous people, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, and organizations such as Survival International and Ditshwanelo have condemned the government's actions as violations of human rights and the Botswana Constitution.

APA

Maroleng, C. (2002). The San: Southern Africa`s Forgotten People. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/situation-reports/situation-report-the-san-southern-africas-forgotten-people-chris-maroleng

Chicago

Maroleng, Chris. The San: Southern Africa`s Forgotten People. Institute for Security Studies, 2002. https://issafrica.org/research/situation-reports/situation-report-the-san-southern-africas-forgotten-people-chris-maroleng.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maroleng |first1=Chris |title=The San: Southern Africa`s Forgotten People |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=May 2002 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/situation-reports/situation-report-the-san-southern-africas-forgotten-people-chris-maroleng |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maroleng2002san, author = {Maroleng, Chris}, title = {{The San: Southern Africa`s Forgotten People}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2002}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/situation-reports/situation-report-the-san-southern-africas-forgotten-people-chris-maroleng}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }