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COMMENTARY
The brilliance of Botswana’s “brilliant example of democracy” fades as the country of 2.3 million people slowly slides into authoritarianism.
The trend started under former President Ian Khama, who silenced critical media and frightened citizens. His term in office ended in April 2018.
The first signs that his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, vice president for four years, had a penchant for intolerance manifested itself in the run-up to the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) congress in April 2019, when he openly foiled his rival, Pelonomi Venson. -The emerging challenge of Moitoi for the party presidency.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to further centralization of power: Parliament recently passed an emergency bill that gives Masisi broad powers to rule by decree over a six-month period.
It was toppled by the majority BDP despite opposition protests that putting power in the hands of one man will generate corruption and infringe the powers of other branches of government.
On April 9, the Botswana government approved a six-month state of emergency.
The country was also placed under a 28-day blockade, which will end on April 30. The blockade was extended until May 7 and is now gradually being reduced. To date, Botswana has reported one death and 23 cases of people infected with Covid-19.
The only explanation Masisi and his government have given, albeit vaguely, to the need for the prolonged state of emergency is that the Public Health Law is too weak to impose an unconditional blockade.
An alarming provision of the President’s emergency powers is the introduction of a prison sentence of up to five years or a $ 10,000 fine for anyone who publishes information “intended to mislead” the public about Covid-19 or the measures taken by the government to address the problem. virus.
Critics say the law, with broad and vague definitions, is a gift to authoritarian leaders who want to use the public health crisis to take power and suppress freedom of expression.
Masisi’s supporters argue that the law is necessary as a deterrent. “It has become necessary to restrict some rights to prevent the spread of the virus,” said BDP spokesman Kagelelo Banks Kentse.
There are well-founded fears that emergency powers will be used to extend government control over supposedly independent institutions. There is already concern that security forces will impose harsh justice in the name of enforcing the blockade.
Two police officers in central Botswana face assault charges and a school teacher was arrested after contesting the government’s claim that a health worker who was evaluating lawmakers during a heated parliamentary debate on the state of emergency had given positive for Covid-19.
On his Facebook page, the teacher, Rakkie Kelesamile, also questioned why people infected with Covid-19 in the hospital did not develop further complications or recover. “It takes five days for the crown to manifest itself on its victim. We are at 14th confinement day. Common sense says that patients should show signs of infection. ”
Police say Kelesamile’s arrest is part of a larger effort to crack down on alleged “disinformation” under section 30 of the Emergency Powers Act.
His lawyer, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae, believes that the government is trying to criminalize the issuance of opinions. “The interpretation of freedom of expression is wrong,” he said. “Making a personal observation should not be criminalized.”
Days earlier, police had arrested Judge Motlhabane, a spokesman for the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), an opposition party linked to Khama, for “degrading and slandering the leadership.”
The charges were labeled “troubling” by the Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions. They were also not included in the Emergency Powers Law, but in the country’s Penal Code. According to the code, Motlhabane faces a potential fine of $ 50 or around P600.
Motlhabane and Oratile Dikologang are accused of suggesting on a Facebook page, Botswana Trending News, that Masisi had declared a prolonged state of emergency “in order to deal with its political rivals and commercial competitors.”
A police spokesman, assistant commissioner Dipheko Motube, said the three men had issued a “statement offensive against the government,” as well as “degrading and smearing the country’s leaders.”
Motlhabane, who is on bail, denied the charges and said he does not have access to the Facebook account. He told the INK Center that the police gave him an electric shock treatment on several occasions while demanding “certain information about a coup d’etat by the former president. [Ian Khama]. “
“They put a Taser on my butt and between my thighs,” he said. Biggie Butale, his attorney and BPF president, said police do not have a case against his client.
“He is not the administrator of the Facebook account in question,” he said, adding: “The police never questioned him about Covid-19, they asked him about a coup.” You wonder what they are looking for.
Several other people have been charged under the Emergency Powers Act.
A South African woman, Charmaine Ibrahim, appeared in court on March 27 for alleging that two South African colleagues in Botswana tested positive for Covid-19. Ibrahim has been released on bail.
A lawyer, Mboki Chilisa, commented on social media that there is no point in punishing harmless false statements “that no member of the public who thought he could well believe.”
The Emergency Powers Law also risks worsening the already conflicting relationship between the government and the private media. The Law prohibits journalists from using “sources” other than [Botswana] Director of Health Services or World Health Organization ”when reporting on Covid-19. Journalists using other sources potentially face a $ 10,000 fine or a five-year prison sentence.
Executive director of the South African Media Institute (Botswana Chapter), Tefo Phatshwane, believes the emergency prohibits independent journalists from holding those in power accountable. He said Masisi has started a “censorship pandemic”, using powerful restrictions as a cover to violate freedom of expression. “As journalists, we cannot trust a government that we are expected to control.”
If the coronavirus outbreak has taught us anything beyond the need to wash our hands, it is that its victim has been leadership. Bureaucracy and incompetence have made it difficult to trust WHO and governments around the world.
On March 21, Masisi, who has a penchant for air travel, defied the blockade to fly to Windhoek to witness the swearing-in of Namibian President Hage Geingob. He insisted that the trip was essential to allow leaders to discuss strategies to combat Covid-19.
The government also failed to handle the death of the first, and currently only, Botswana victim of Covid-19. A local newspaper reported that the elderly woman’s funeral in Ramotswa, in the southeast of the country, was not handled consistently with the guidelines for the burial of the victims. The government admitted days later that she had died of the disease.
It is tempting to demand swift action to combat those who undermine national and global efforts to combat the pandemic through disinformation. But Ngakaagae insists that censorship should not be part of the cure.
The government should identify the most efficient responses and communicate them to the public and allow genuinely held and reasonable opinions to flourish. “The government has to involve the public in the dialogue,” he said.
Joel Konopo works for the INK Center for Investigative Journalism
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