Kasikili
Chobe River and Sedudu
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 Sedudu Island
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Chobe River adjacent to Namibian border |
| Coordinates | 17°49′S 25°8′E / 17.817°S 25.133°ECoordinates: 17°49′S 25°8′E / 17.817°S 25.133°E |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Non populated |
| Additional information | |
| Territorial dispute with Namibia resolved by ICJ in 1999 | |
Sedudu Island (known as Kasikili Island in Namibia) is a fluvial island in Botswana, formed in the Chobe River adjacent to the border with Namibia which runs down the thalweg of the river immediately north of the island. The island was the subject of a territorial dispute between these countries, resolved by a 1999 decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ruled in favour of Botswana. The island is approximately 5 square kilometres (2 square miles) in area, with no permanent residents. For several months each year, beginning around March, the island is submerged by floods.
The dispute arose because of the imprecise wording of the agreement concerning the northern boundary between the colonial powers of Germany and the United Kingdom which settled the geographic interests between German South-West Africa and the Bechuanaland Protectorate in the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty signed on July 1, 1890. This treaty read "in Southwest Africa, Germany's sphere of influence is demarcated thus":[1]
To the east by the line that commences at the aforementioned point and follows the 20th degree of east longitude to its intersection point with the 22nd degree of south latitude. The line then traces this degree of latitude eastward to its intersection with the 21st degree of east longitude, follows this degree of longitude northward to its intersection with the 18th degree of south latitude, runs along this degree of latitude eastward to its intersection with the Chobe River. Here it descends the thalweg of the main channel until it meets the Zambezi, where it ends. It is understood that under this arrangement Germany shall be granted free access from its protectorate to the Zambezi by means of a strip of land not less than twenty English miles [30 km] wide at any point. Great Britain's sphere of influence is bounded to the west and northwest by the previously described line and includes Lake Ngami.
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