STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 32 The spy agency, Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), has been reported to be using surveillance and jamming technology developed by Elbit Systems to conduct ‘electronic warfare’ against the media. Online news outlet editor Oratile Dikologang was arrested in April 2020 with police saying they used a Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) sold by Israel-based Cellebrite and a Forensic Toolkit (FTK) to examine his mobile phone. The police said they had “successfully extracted” and “thoroughly analysed” thousands of the journalist’s messages, contacts, images, audio files, and videos, as well social media accounts and applications from his phone Police disperse protesters during State of Emergency CREDIT: The Parrot Online (2020) (9) after he refused to reveal his sources when requested to. MEDIA INDEPENDENCE Botswana’s State media is controlled by the Office of the President. Despite persistent complaints about the State media’s biased coverage by opposition parties, the trend continues. In 2017, media ombudsman Augustine Makgonatshotlhe revealed that the Stateowned broadcaster, Botswana Television (Btv) gave the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) 82 percent of its airtime compared to the 18 percent shared by all opposition parties. (5) He ruled that Btv had not lived up to its mandate by favouring the BDP in its coverage of political events. Private media covers opposition activities including campaigns and have been instrumental in exposing scandals (6) associated with the ruling party. They also cover government activities and ruling party campaigns. The 2021 Freedom House report ranks Botswana amongst the freest countries in the world at number 72 out of 100 countries. Botswana is considered as one of the stable democracies in Africa, but the report