{"id":56723,"date":"2024-10-11T06:09:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T06:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter"},"modified":"2024-10-11T06:19:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T06:19:34","slug":"justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter","title":{"rendered":"Justice Gabanagae Declines to Recuse himself from IEC Vs Opposition Parties\u2019 Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>High Court Judge, Justice Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae, has declined to recuse himself from the case in which opposition parties are challenging the recent appointment of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) commissioners.<\/b><\/p>\n

Gabanagae is part of a panel of three judges, alongside Justices Michael Leburu and Ookeditse Maphakwane, presiding over the matter brought by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and other opposition parties. The opposition had objected to Gabanagae\u2019s participation, citing potential bias due to his previous working relationship with some of the IEC commissioners.<\/p>\n

Ruling Dismisses Recusal Request<\/p>\n

In a ruling delivered on Tuesday at the Gaborone High Court, the panel dismissed the recusal request, stating that the opposition failed to provide sufficient grounds. \u201cThe applicant has failed to raise sufficient reasons on why Gabanagae should recuse himself from this matter. Therefore, the application is dismissed,\u201d part of the ruling stated.<\/p>\n

The opposition had argued that Gabanagae\u2019s involvement in the 2022 Delimitation Commission with three of the IEC commissioners raised concerns of perceived bias. They highlighted that the judge had worked closely with the commissioners for nine months, during which they held meetings and conducted public consultations.<\/p>\n

Opposition\u2019s Legal Argument on Bias<\/p>\n

The opposition maintained that the judge\u2019s past working relationship with the commissioners created a potential for bias, as the matter in question involved the lawfulness of their appointments. They argued that it is established legal practice for judges to recuse themselves when there is a perceived likelihood of bias.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proximity of the concerned judge with the commissioners creates a perception of bias, especially as the matter involves their appointments,\u201d the opposition stated in their court filings. They further requested clarification from Gabanagae regarding his intention to recuse himself, suggesting that they would otherwise proceed with a formal application on the day of the hearing.<\/p>\n

Gabanagae to Remain on Panel<\/p>\n

With Gabanagae\u2019s refusal to step down, he will continue to serve on the panel presiding over the case, where the opposition is contesting the appointment of the IEC commissioners.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. High Court Judge, Justice Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae, has declined to recuse himself from the case in which opposition parties are challenging the recent appointment of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) commissioners. Gabanagae is part of a panel of three judges, alongside Justices Michael Leburu and Ookeditse Maphakwane, presiding over the matter brought by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":56722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-56723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nJustice Gabanagae Declines to Recuse himself from IEC Vs Opposition Parties\u2019 Matter - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"High Court Judge, Justice Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae, has declined to recuse himself from the case in which opposition p ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justice Gabanagae Declines to Recuse himself from IEC Vs Opposition Parties\u2019 Matter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"High Court Judge, Justice Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae, has declined to recuse himself from the case in which opposition p ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-11T06:09:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-11T06:19:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2024\/10\/sm_1728614929.459905.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Justice Gabanagae Declines to Recuse himself from IEC Vs Opposition Parties\u2019 Matter\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-11T06:09:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-11T06:19:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\"},\"wordCount\":359,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2024\/10\/sm_1728614929.459905.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/justice-gabanagae-declines-to-recuse-himself-from-iec-vs-opposition-parties-matter\",\"name\":\"Justice Gabanagae Declines to Recuse himself from IEC Vs Opposition Parties\u2019 Matter - 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