WeekendPost Senior Reporter; David Baaitse and Photojournalist Kenneth Mosekiemang were arrested and detained by the Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) while on duty on Thursday afternoon and had to endure more than 7 hours of interrogation at different locations around Gaborone. The journalists had gone to Block 3, Gaborone to take pictures relating to a story they were working on when they were met with arrest by security agents. The duo were released yesterday [Friday], after the intervention of attorney, Dick Bayford. No formal charges were laid against them but their mobile phones have been confiscated supposedly for the purpose of further investigations.
Free Press is the cornerstone of Democracy
The shrinking democratic space in Botswana is evident in the way State security organs treat the media. If many believed that harassment of journalists by State security organs is a thing of the past, they should be excused for being presumptuous.
This week, two WeekendPost reporters suffered intimidation at the hands of Directorate of Intelligence Security (DIS) while on course of their routine work.
The intimidation comes in wake of May 3 World Press Freedom Day theme of โJournalism without fear or favour.โ
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, 3rd May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.
May 3rd acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
It is an opportunity to; celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; defend media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The arrest of WeekendPost reporters is disappointing given the verity that President Mokgweetsi Masisi has promised to enhance media freedom in Botswana, and that many incidences of harassment that we have seen in the previous administration will never be repeated again.
There are many impediments, such as the Media Practitioners Act, which seek among others to stifle the freedom of the press in Botswana. There has been a promise to repeal the Act but no action has been take so far.
The importance of free and independent media cannot be over emphasised. While the media can cause annoyance to those that are at the receiving end, journalism serves a greater public interest.
The role that journalism plays in society has been captured crisply by United States of Americaโs founding father and its 3rd President Thomas Jefferson, who once opined that: โwere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.โ
This Jefferson statement dates back to 1787 during the early years of democracy. Jefferson thought the role of a free press in keeping government power in check is so important that he would prefer โnewspapers without governmentโ to โgovernment without newspapersโโ and even said that all governments, unless checked by a knowledgeable citizenry, would inevitably become rogue.
This view has proven to be true in many countries around the world over the years. It is in the nature of dictatorial governments or leaders to supress press freedom in order to prolong their stay in power.
In cases where the media is allowed to operate in autocratic states, media is heavily controlled by government, therefore being used to serve the interests of those in power as opposed to the greater interests of the citizenry.
The media loses its significance if it is not free and independent. In an environment where the media is not free and independent, journalists will not be able to do their work โwithout fear or favour.โ
The idea of a free and independent press has been captured by first President of democratic South Africa, Nelson Mandela who said: โAs a democracy, none of our irritations with the perceived inadequacies of the media should ever allow us to suggest even faintly that the independence of the press could be compromised or coerced. A bad free press is preferable to a technically good subservient press.”
