Interview with Dr. Tshepang Edwin Makwati: Botswana Human Rights Lawyer and Innovative Lawyers Awards Winner
Dr. Tshepang Edwin Makwati is a recipient of one of REDRESS’s Innovative Lawyers Awards. He spoke with REDRESS about his work litigating cases of torture in Botswana and securing reparation for victims through Makwati T.E. Law Group, the law firm that he founded. He also discussed his commitment to mentoring young professionals in human rights advocacy and his efforts to advance the anti-torture movement.
Why did you become a human rights lawyer?
You start by having, first of all, empathy for the people and then also being aware of the needs of those around you, who cannot necessarily speak for themselves, either because of the fear they have, either because of depression or any other circumstances they find themselves in.
I felt that the only way I could contribute meaningfully to humanity and get justice for those who are downtrodden is through being a human rights lawyer.
What are the main challenges of confronting torture in Botswana?
In Botswana, human rights is an alien topic. So, the first challenge is, you know, inculcating it into the minds of the people that they actually have rights. They don’t think they do. They think that the government grants them rights.
How can you help educate people about their rights?
There is absolutely something we can do. If you hold workshops around the cities and the villages, and also do it in a multidisciplinary manner, where you also involve people, maybe from the medical legal field and those from the psychosocial [field] and open people’s eyes about what steps do you take if your rights are violated? Where are these rights enshrined? How do you invoke them to assert them in a court of law? Then, you’ve got to keep doing strategic litigation and get it published in the media that is available, so that people can read about that. Those are the two main approaches that could potentially work to raise awareness of human rights.
What other challenges do you face?
Botswana is a dualist state, that is to say international law does not become automatically law. So, it has to be domesticated through the legislative processes of the country for that to become law. So even [when it has] ratified the Convention against Torture, there’s no legislation that domesticates it. So, you can’t actually go to court and [litigate against] torture because it’s not a crime in Botswana. So, [with] these crimes, if there’s ever any prosecution or court action that takes place, the way they’re dealt with will be using the usual common law offences. That is the challenge.
It’s not even a topic that has been discussed within our parliament or the National Assembly. Nobody talks about it, maybe because generally people are not human rights conscious or they’re not aware that there’s a problem. So, the challenge that we have is the acknowledgement first, that there is a problem of torture in Botswana.
Who are the main perpetrators of torture in Botswana?
In Botswana, when we talk about torture, it’s always law enforcement people. You’re talking of police, you’re talking of prison wardens, you’re talking of the lesser degree soldiers as well. And this happens in custodial or extra-custodial settings. For example, you could be a suspect in a crime because they just suspect you for whatever reason. Then, they come and pick you up and torture you to confess that you did it, and why you did it. Then, sometimes you will end up confessing, you get seriously injured or wounded, in some cases even dead.
What is it like to be a human rights lawyer in Botswana?
You’re really not free. Most of the time your phones get tapped and [they] listen to your conversations. So you have to conquer the fear of what might happen to you. It’s a very isolating area of law because nobody really, most people don’t want to do it. I’m probably one of the few, or maybe the only person that I know, that does this kind of cases, because for years human rights was not a topic that was common in the Botswana context. It was left to, the often misconstrued notion, that Botswana is a shining beacon of democracy. That’s quite an uphill battle.
What are the main obstacles to ensuring accountability?
You’ll see that I’ve got a serious challenge ahead, simply because in Botswana, there’s no police oversight or oversight for any of the law enforcement bodies that we have. So, if you get tortured by the police, where do you go? You go to the police to report what? ‘Hey, I was tortured by you, so do something about the way you tortured me.’ So, the files disappear, and the docket disappears all the time, 100% of the time. And so, we end up, banking more on the civil side of things. You say at least this person can get some compensation of some sort. They always cover up for the perpetrators. That’s a big challenge. So, to secure the evidence, I became a lawyer and an investigator myself and investigate my own cases.
Are there any safeguards against torture in custody?
No, there’s no cameras in the police stations, in the interview rooms. Well, sometimes also the interview rooms become the jungle. They take you somewhere far away from everybody and deal with you there. Do whatever they do.
Can you describe an initiative that you’ve worked on that advanced the anti-torture movement?
Right now I’m handling countless cases, and all these cases, I’m not doing them for a fee. It’s to get justice for the people. So, I think that is a very significant contribution, looking at the expenses that are involved.
Periodically, I also gather my students and teach them to win and teach other people. I’ve got about 400 law students that I teach. The results might not come in the next two years, three years, but over the years we’ll have a legacy of having been the pioneers of the human rights movement against torture, to ensure that people don’t get tortured, and the perpetrators get away with it.
What’s one of the proudest moments that you’ve had in this field?
Perhaps the biggest victory was securing the first ever prosecution for torture in South Africa and also being able to secure compensation for the victims of torture. I’ve lost count now, but mostly we’ve been successful on the civil side of securing compensation, and I think we’ve secured eleven prosecutions so far.
What are the main priorities in challenging torture in Botswana?
The first goal is to advocate for the domestication of the Convention against Torture and also for Botswana to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and eventually the establishment of an NPM, National Preventive Mechanism, to advocate for the establishment of oversight bodies, independent oversight bodies for police, like police watchdogs. We don’t have that in Botswana.
I also want to advocate for a more vibrant civil society that is given independence and does not get derailed by intimidation or and it’s not too aligned to the people who are perpetrators. So, I decided for me to be able to move faster in the area that I want to focus on, I had to separate myself from that, because it doesn’t go well with what I stand for. That’s when we established Makwati Law Group.
What motivates you to continue your work?
The motivation comes from seeing people getting the results and being happy like, ‘you just helped us to get justice’. When you see that success, you want to do the next one. That’s what I’ve found to be the fuel that propels me forward to keep doing these things.
What is your hope for the human rights movement in Botswana?
A lot has changed since the erstwhile regime was removed in the October 2024 general elections. It appears the new government is more human rights-centred and aims to jettison human rights abuses that were rampant under the previous government. It was indeed a welcome development that the new government is seemingly taking steps in the right direction.
About the Awards
REDRESS’s Innovative Lawyers Awards aim to recognise the vital work of new and emerging anti-torture champions, expose them to a broader peer support network, provide financial support to pursue public interest litigation and to inspire other lawyers and practitioners. This support is made available through the United Against Torture Consortium, which is funded by the European Union.
