Botswana

(MISA/IFEX) – The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Ponatshego Kedikilwe and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Deputy Treasury, Satar Dada, have launched a libel law suit against the proprietor of the “Botswana Guardian” and editor Outsa Mokone. The two are demanding P1 million (approx. US$4,670,000) each in damages. This follows a story published by […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Two journalists from the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) were arrested on 19 January 1999 in the Botswana capital, Gaborone. The “Namibian” newspaper reports that Andreas Frai, a reporter, and Vincent Spiegel, a camera operator, were apparently accused of harassing several dissident Namibians being held at a house in Gaborone pending their trial on […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 25 May 1998, the Botswana Attorney General, Phandu Tombola Chaha Skelemani, withdrew all charges against the former editor of the “Okavango Observer”, Caitlin Davies, and reporter Letswetswe Phaladi. Davies and Phaladi, along with another employee of the paper, Andrew Dooley, and the owner, Anne Sandeberg, were charged two years ago with publishing […]

(MISA/IFEX) – World View Botswana, a locally based non-governmental organization, has been denied broadcasting licenses by the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA). The Botswana government says there is no immediate need to grant licenses to community radio stations because the objectives of community broadcasting are currently being met by the state-controlled Radio Botswana. This position was […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 10 December 1997, the former editor of the defunct “Okavango Observer” newspaper, Caitlin Davies, and reporter Cobrie Kgaodi appeared before the magistrate court in Botswana to take a plea over an offending story published two years ago. **Updates IFEX alerts dated 9 December 1997 and 3 September 1996** Davies was verbally summoned […]

(MISA/IFEX) – A former editor and reporter for the defunct “Okavango Observer” newspaper have been summoned to appear before the magistrate court in Botswana over a story published two years ago. On 9 December 1997, Caitlin Davies was verbally summoned by officers in the Botswana Criminal Investigations Department (CID) who visited her husband’s office in […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Media workers in Botswana are still concerned about a broadcasting bill proposed by the government. A meeting of the Media Task Force on the bill has been called for 27 November 1997 to review the situation. The proposed bill comes after an earlier one on mass media communications was rejected by the media […]

The privately-owned newspaper, “Okavango Observer”, was, on 22 January 1996, charged by Botswana’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) under Section 59 of the Alarming Publications Act. On 22 August, editor Caitlin Davies said that the paper had published in its 29 September 1995 edition a story about a notorious street gang known as “Ma Western” which […]

Professor (sic) Malema, a journalist for the privately-owned newspaper “Botswana Guardian”, is currently under investigation by the Office of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), which operates out of the Office of the President. Rodger Batty, Head of Prosecutions for the DCEC, confirmed that he is investigating Malema. He stated that his office […]

**For background to February incident, see IFEX alert dated 8 May 1995** A member of parliament (MP) stormed into the offices of the weekly newspaper “Mmegi” and threatened the paper’s parliamentary correspondent, Mesh Moeti. In its 28 July 1995 edition, “Mmegi” reported that Botswana National Front (BNF) MP Geoffrey Mosimakoko entered the newspaper’s premises on […]

Secrecy charges against two journalists working for the weekly “Mmegi” newspaper were dismissed by the Lobatse High Court on 28 February 1995. The two journalists, “Mmegi” managing editor Titus Mbuya and freelance reporter Professor Malema, were accused in the early 1990’s under the National Security Act of unlawfully receiving “an official document marked `secret’” and […]