SECTOR 1 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, are effectively protected and promoted. 1.1 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is guaranteed in the constitution and supported by other pieces of legislation. Analysis: Freedom of expression is guaranteed in section 12 (1) of the Botswana Constitution, which states under “Protection of freedom of expression” that: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence.” While freedom of the media is not expressly guaranteed in the Constitution, it is assumed that the above clause on freedom of expression includes freedom of the media. This is in line with a High Court judgement made in September 2001, in which a government ban on advertising in two newspapers, the Botswana Guardian and the MidWeek Sun, was declared unconstitutional as it violated the newspapers’ rights to freedom of expression. Justice IBK Lesetedi described freedom of the media as one aspect of freedom of expression. The ban had been imposed on the newspapers because the government felt they were too critical of the country’s leaders.3 The Constitution contains a number of very broad provisions that can be used to limit freedom of expression in the name of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, other people’s rights, as well as protecting the freedom of civil servants to perform their duties, among others. “The Constitution is contradictory as it grants certain rights and freedoms, which the powers that be can limit through vague, ‘claw-back’ clauses.” 3 http://www.ifex.org/botswana/2001/09/28/high_court_declares_advertising/ 10 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009