SECTOR 1 March 2008 at the end of his second term. Ian Khama was his chosen successor. A call for the president to be elected directly by the people was rejected by Parliament in 2008.4 Khama’s deputy is a retired army general, while his press liaison officer is also a former soldier. Since he came to power, without being democratically elected, there appears to be a growing militarisation of government and an increase in dictatorial tendencies on Khama’s part. Since Khama took power, he has established the spy unit, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS). “There is an unnamed but very real fear in Botswana. Fearful things are happening: youths are being abducted by security forces and warned to cease being ‘troublesome’. This fear restricts reporting as journalists are afraid to do investigative stories and are censoring themselves.” Of note is the recent murder of John Kalafatis, who was gunned down in Gaborone in May 13, 2009 allegedly by state security agents who suspected him of being a criminal. Between April 1, 2008 and May 2009, there have been 14 shootings and 9 confirmed killings including that of Kalafatis, allegedly by security agents, raising suspicion that this approach has been condoned or even sanctioned by the president.5 The outcome of investigations into previous killings, have not been made public. Five days after Kalafatis’ death, private media organisations were barred from a press conference held by the government and intended to answer media allegations linking security agents to his death.6 On May 27, 2009 President Khama sued the private Sunday Standard newspaper for alleging that the president may have been involved in Kalafatis’ murder. There have been unconfirmed reports that government is planning an advertising ban on the Sunday Standard and Mmegi. “...This fear restricts reporting as journalists are afraid to do investigative stories and are censoring themselves.” Mention was also made of staff of non-governmental organisations being warned by senior government officials that they should refrain from utterances perceived to be critical of the government if they would like “to remain in the country and prosper”. Even lawyers have been attacked for releasing press statements before investigations into suspected cases of human rights violations have been concluded. Another warning sign is that other groups in society, including churches, are becoming fearful to speak out; labour activists suspect they are being followed by intelligence agents; and Members of Parliament have been warned not to 4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1068674.stm#facts 5 http://www.sundaystandard.info/news/news_item.php?NewsID=5003&GroupID=1 6 Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Botswana alert: ‘Private media barred from government press conference on controversial death of Botswana man’, May 22, 2009 12 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2009