On October 23, 2026, a 97-year-old man was honored at a university graduation in Botswana with one of the highest honors a school can give. His life’s lesson was learned in the Kalahari Desert, and it is a simple one: never stop standing up for your people.
His name is Roy Sesana. The University of Botswana awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters for a lifetime spent defending the San people of the Central Kalahari.
A Son of the Desert
Roy Sesana was born on September 17, 1929, in Molapo, a settlement deep inside what is now the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, according to The 2nd Republic, a Botswana news site. He grew up in the traditional hunter-gatherer way of life of the San, one of the oldest peoples of southern Africa. In Botswana, the San are also known as the Basarwa.
As a young man he worked for several years in South Africa’s mines, then came home to Botswana in 1971, the University of Botswana says.
Standing Up for Home
In 1991, Sesana helped found an organization called First People of the Kalahari, and in 1995 he became its chairman. Its purpose was to speak up for San families and their right to live on their ancestral land.
That work soon became urgent. Between 1997 and 2002, San communities were moved out of the Central Kalahari reserve to resettlement camps. Sesana and others took the matter to court. In 2006, Botswana’s High Court ruled in their favor, affirming their right to live on their ancestral lands, according to the university and The 2nd Republic.
The road was not easy. He was briefly arrested in 2005 during the dispute and released days later, the university notes. That same year he received the Right Livelihood Award, an international honor often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”
Even in his later years, he kept serving. In 2016 he took a job as a community liaison officer with the Ghanzi District Council, and he chairs a consultative committee for the reserve, the university says.
A Day of Dignity
The honor came during the University of Botswana’s 44th graduation ceremonies, held October 21 to 23. The university said it was recognizing his commitment to “defending the rights, cultural identity and dignity” of one of the country’s historically marginalized communities.
Botswana’s president, Duma Boko, attended the ceremony, according to The 2nd Republic. Years ago, as a human rights lawyer, Boko represented San communities in legal matters linked to the Kalahari case.
Mongabay reported that Sesana dedicated the honor to the Basarwa and to all the people of Botswana. He also reminded listeners that the work for land, self-determination and livelihoods is not finished.
Hope for What Comes Next
There are signs of fresh progress. According to Mongabay, Michael Taylor of the group Anthropos Africa said the government approved a plan in September to restore legally protected land rights to Indigenous communities, while keeping the reserve protected. A government committee is also working on a roadmap for land restitution. Details are still being worked out, and many will be watching how the plan unfolds.
What Roy Sesana Teaches Us
Roy Sesana’s story is not about winning quickly. It is about showing up, year after year, for decades. He spoke for his neighbors when it was costly to do so. He kept going when the answer was slow in coming. And at 97, he lived to see his people’s struggle honored in front of his nation.
Most of us will never stand in a courtroom for a whole people. But every family has someone who needs a voice, and every community has a quiet place where faithfulness is needed. The Bible encourages us not to give up on doing what is right:
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
(Galatians 6:9, KJV)
From the sands of the Kalahari comes a reminder that perseverance matters, that dignity is worth defending, and that it is never too late to see good seeds bear fruit.
Through every storm, we rise together.
Who in your life has kept standing up for others, year after year? Share in the comments below.
Sources: Mongabay, “Botswana honors 97-year-old who fought eviction of Indigenous people in Kalahari” (October 27, 2026); The 2nd Republic, “From Displacement to Dignity: University of Botswana Honours San Rights Champion Dr Roy Sesana” (October 23, 2026); University of Botswana, “UB to Honour San Rights Champion Roy Sesana with Honorary Doctorate” (October 2026).
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