The North West High Court has dealt a significant blow to Ramono Pilane Linchwe’s attempt to reclaim the throne of the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela traditional community, striking his urgent application from the roll and ordering him to pay legal costs.
In a judgment passed on Wednesday, acting deputy judge president Andre Petersen ruled that the application by Linchwe was not only premature but represented a self-created urgency that ignored a binding ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
In September last year the SCA overturned a previous decision of the North West high court division. The SCA ruled that the North West premier’s original decision to withdraw the recognition certificate of Kgosi Nyalala Pilane in 2020 was unlawful because it was based on a resolution from the royal family in Mochudi, Botswana.
The SCA held that in terms of the North West Traditional Leadership and Governance Act 2, only the royal family in Moruleng, located within the North West, had the authority to remove or recommend the removal of a kgosi (chief).
The traditional community’s inhabitants are in South Africa and Botswana. Its land is known to contain large reserves of platinum group materials. The community has assets which include farms and game reserves and is partners in at least two mining projects worth billions.
The appellate court further found that the premier acted unlawfully in issuing Linchwe with a certificate of recognition as an interim or acting kgosi, as there was no vacancy to be filled once Kgosi Pilane’s removal was set aside.
To my mind the argument that [Linchwe] was issued a certificate recognising him as the permanent kgosi, which should impact the judgment of the SCA, does not avail the applicant. [Linchwe] has known since the SCA judgment that his legal tenure was terminal,” Petersen said.
— Acting deputy judge president Andre Petersen
On January 26 North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi formally handed over a certificate of recognition to Kgosi Pilane as the kgosi of the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela.
In his urgent application, Linchwe sought to review and set aside the premier’s decision to withdraw his certificate of recognition as kgosi of the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela. He further sought to set aside the premier’s decision to recognise Pilane as the kgosi.
Linchwe advanced a number of grounds for his urgent application. One was that the withdrawal of his certificate and the reinstatement of Kgosi Pilane would create a “leadership vacuum” and lead to administrative chaos within the traditional council.
Linchwe also said the immediate cessation of his salary and benefits as kgosi would cause him irreparable financial harm.
Linchwe said allowing Kgosi Pilane to resume duties violated the traditional customs of the tribal community as purportedly determined by the royal family. He also alleged that the community was “on a knife-edge” and that the Premier’s decision would trigger volatility and potential violence.
In dismissing the urgent application, Petersen said the SCA judgment unequivocally declared Linchwe’s appointment as interim kgosi unlawful.
“To my mind the argument that [Linchwe] was issued a certificate recognising him as the permanent kgosi, which should impact the judgment of the SCA, does not avail the applicant. [Linchwe] has known since the SCA judgment that his legal tenure was terminal,” Petersen said.
The judge said Linchwe requested reasons from the premier on January 15 2026. Under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, the premier has 90 days to respond.
The applicant failed to provide any concrete proof that such unrest is imminent or that it is directly linked to the administrative acts of the premier in complying with the SCA order
— Petersen
“By launching this application in February 2026, and at the very least removing it from the urgent roll twice before proceeding with the application before this court at the third re-enrolment thereof, speaks volumes of the lack of urgency of the matter.”
The judge said Linchwe had deliberately bypassed the statutory process. Any urgency arising from a lack of “reasons” was therefore self-created and premature.
Linchwe’s contention that a leadership vacuum existed was legally flawed, said Petersen.
“The SCA specifically held that because the removal of the kgosi (Pilane) was unlawful, there was never a legal vacancy to be filled. The ‘instability’ the applicant fears is, in fact, the restoration of the lawful status quo as ordered by a superior court.”
There could be no urgency in attempting to prevent the lawful execution of a court order, he said.
“This argument is further self-destructive when considering the long-standing history of the litigation for the throne of kgosi.”
The allegations of potential civil unrest and community volatility were thin on evidence and largely speculative.
“The applicant failed to provide any concrete proof that such unrest is imminent or that it is directly linked to the administrative acts of the premier in complying with the SCA order.”
Petersen said Linchwe’s appetite for continued litigation in the face of the unambiguous SCA judgment and seeking to jump the queue with a meritless urgent application must be censured with a cost order at the highest scale.
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