%RWVZDQD ,QWURGXFWLRQ Though acclaimed internationally as a democratic template that should be followed by other African countries, Botswana’s democracy is in many ways flawed and has serious underlying defects especially when considering the unsupportive and restrictive legal frameworks concerning the media. A list of some such barriers are: • The Absence of Freedom of Information (FOI) law • The coming into place of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority Act (BOCRA) • Media Practitioner’s Act • Criminal Defamation vs. Civil Defamation From the media’s point of view, 2012 was a trying and eventful one. As the year begun, media people and media advocacy groups were all hopeful about the possibility of witnessing the passing of Botswana’s first Freedom of Information Act. That was not to be. As it turned out, such expectations were quashed by the ruling government’s burning desire not to be outdone by the opposition. The events unfolded as follows. In 2010, an opposition Member of Parliament, Dumelang Saleshando, proposed a private member’s Bill on Freedom of Information and joined efforts with MISA-Botswana to form a taskforce on the issue. Involved in the taskforce were civil society activists, university experts, gender activists and lawyers. The taskforce’s mandate was to assist Saleshando to craft a document on FOI that was able to stand the test of time and abide by current developments in FOI laws around the world. The goal was to come up with a law that was progressive. With the help of development partners and MISA’s wide exposure to such efforts, the Task Force was able to craft a draft that was eventually brought to Parliament in 2011. In early 2012, MISA Botswana, on behalf of FOI taskforce, embarked on a campaign to inform the public through Local Authorities, Traditional leaders and Civil Society groups. Meetings were held across the country to get the public to appreciate not just the Bill and its contents, but also more crucially, why as a democracy Botswana needed such a law. With the second reading on schedule, there started clear attempts by government, especially the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mokgweetsi Masisi, and Presidential Spokesperson, Dr. Jeff Ramsay, to delay and even discredit the Bill. As it turned out, the two officials spearheaded what became a frustrating exercise to effectively kill the Bill before it could become a law. They masterminded a campaign that eventually convinced the ruling party in parliament that what the country needed first, was a Data Protection law before the Freedom of Information Law. In their misinformation and disinformation campaign, they even misled some MPs who seemed not to have read the contents of the draft Bill for themselves. A key character of the duo’s scare- 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"