The Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union and the Botswana Editors Forum have officially declared a media blackout on the ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party. The bodies say that the arrest of journalists and government’s sudden cancellation of advertisements has made it difficult to practice journalism in the country.
Just 2 weeks back, freelance journalist Sonny Serite was arrested for attaining a classified file that apparently was to expose corruption at Botswana Railways. According to the union’s president Phillimon Mmeso, “(There have been) continued arrests of journalists by state agents and we have observed that those charges will later be dropped. This means it is just their way to threaten journalists, making them fear reporting on issues of corruption that are happening within government. The ruling party have been quiet and never raised their voice on the harassment of journalists.”
Some people argue that Sonny Serite, was obtaining those documents, not in the capacity of a journalist, but as a staunch member of the opposition. They say he was driven by spite, and also to make a name for himself. Whatever the case, corruption should not be condoned, and issues of public interest should be made available to the public.
