STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 16 social media monitoring surveillance by the State. or Chin’ono was arrested on three different charges, which included incitement of violence, obstructing the course of justice and publishing falsehoods. (32) (33) (34) All these charges were based on messages that Chin’ono posted on his social media pages on Facebook and Twitter. These arrests and the prolonged pre-trial detention contributed to the infringement of freedom of expression and promoted a culture of self-censorship by media practitioners and members of the public, which ultimately would lead to the shrinking of democratic spaces online. More recently in November 2021, the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister said the government had set up a cyber team to “monitor what people send and receive.” (35) This is a clear indicator of the repressive environment in which media practitioners are operating in as their right to privacy and more so the confidentiality of their sources is not guaranteed. From a legislative perspective, the Data Protection Act, enacted in December 2021, amended the Interception of Communications Act, the Zimbabwean law that provides for lawful surveillance. The Data Protection Act established a Cybersecurity and Monitoring of Interceptions of Communications Centre that is housed in the Office of the President and presents a legal basis for the government, and allows the executive branch of government to be monitoring and intercepting communications of targeted persons, who are believed, reasonably or not, to be enemies of the State, especially political opponents. (36) Botswana Botswana has been implicated in the surveillance of journalists. In late 2021, the Botswana government began procedures to enact the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Controlled Investigations) Bill, a proposed law that contained provisions that would allow authorities to intercept communications of journalists and force them to disclose their sources. (37) Following an intervention by media organisations in Botswana, who were supported by their partners in the region, the proposed provisions were eventually withdrawn. However, the pattern of surveillance has been happening prior to this proposed legislation. The Botswana police was reported to have been using Israeli technology to snoop on journalists, particularly to verify or check the identity of their sources. In July 2019, the police seized devices belonging to journalist Tsaone Basimahotlhe and proceeded to use technology sold by the Israel-based company Cellebrite to extract and analyse thousands of her messages, call logs, and emails, and her web browsing history, according to an affidavit from the police forensics laboratory. (38) In April 2020, journalist Oratile Dikologang was arrested and had his phone searched by police after he wrote articles critical of the government. Jus�ce Motlhabani (le�) and Letsogile Barupi, followed by Ora�le Dikologang, leave the magistrate’s court in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 14, 2020. CREDIT: Mmegi/Thalefang Charles It is reported that the police “successfully extracted” and “thoroughly analysed” thousands of the journalist’s messages, contacts, images, audio files, and videos, as well as social media accounts and applications, according to an affidavit that they submitted to court to support the