A company linked to late businessman Derik Brink and former Minister of Justice Ronald Shamukuni were locked in a legal dispute over hunting rights in the lucrative Okavango Delta, with questions of corporate identity, legal standing and competing court orders dominating the battle.
The dispute centred on hunting activities in the NG13 concession area and pitted Old Man’s Pan Safaris against DK Superior, a firm associated with Shamukuni. The matter drew in the Tcheku Community Development Trust and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP).
Leon Kachelhoffer, managing director and shareholder of Old Man’s Pan Safaris, has challenged the legality of proceedings initiated by DK Superior Proprietary Limited, arguing that the entity cited in court papers does not legally exist in Botswana.
In an affidavit, Kachelhoffer said a search conducted with the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) revealed no registered company under the name DK Superior Proprietary Limited. Kachelhoffer further argued that Old Man’s Pan had already secured an order on appeal interdicting hunting activities in the NG13 area. He said the Court of Appeal ruling, delivered on 15 August 2025, directed that the dispute between Old Man’s Pan and the Tcheku Trust be resolved through arbitration.
He said he later learnt, through another court order, that DK Superior had been authorised to hunt in NG13 after entering into an agreement with the trust. According to Kachelhoffer, the order was obtained without notice to parties directly affected, including Old Man’s Pan Safaris.
‘The First Respondent clearly has no locus standi to institute proceedings for the orders it did. There is no company registered in Botswana known as DK Superior Pty Ltd. This is fatal to the application,’ he said.
Kachelhoffer also pointed to earlier High Court proceedings in which the Tcheku Trust filed an agreement showing it had contracted with DK Superior, a South African company. ‘The First Respondent is not party to such an agreement. This is a further basis to demonstrate that the First Respondent has no locus standi,’ he said, adding that the same agreement had previously been filed before the court by DK Superior’s own attorneys.
In response, Shamukuni accused Old Man’s Pan of failing to fully disclose the scope of the Court of Appeal interdict. ‘There is a matter of substance that should be raised upfront; failure by the Applicant to disclose that the interdict restrained the Tcheku Community Development Trust and its board from hunting, or permitting any persons to hunt on their behalf or under their direction,’ he said.
Shamukuni further maintained that the hunting quota for 2025 had been sold to DK Superior before the interdict came into effect. ‘The Applicant has not gainsaid the First Respondent’s assertion that the hunting quota for 2025 was sold to them prior to the interdict,’ he stated.
On the question of legal standing, Shamukuni explained that ‘DK Superior Proprietary Limited is the registered business name of Shamron Group, a company duly incorporated under the laws of Botswana.’ He said DK Superior (Pty) Limited of South Africa is the majority shareholder of Shamron.
‘The First Respondent made a bona fide mistake in believing that since the company was trading under its registered business name, that name could equally be used in litigation,’ Shamukuni said.
It has since emerged that the matter has taken a new turn with Shamukuni withdrawing the case from the Maun High Court when it was scheduled to return on 24 November 2025. It remains unclear what the next legal step will be.