SECTOR 1 There have been instances where people who ‘reveal information to benefit the nation, will find they are compromised as a result of doing that.’ ‘The DCEC has found a way of informing the corrupt people’ who in turn threaten the whistle-blowers. In March 2018, the DCEC found 50,000 BWP (4,900 USD) in cash in the dustbin of a house belonging to the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services: Prince Maele.10 ‘Before we ran the story...the minister called the reporter and said, “I heard from your colleague who informed me that you are running a story and he is going to stop it.”’ This incident exemplifies that ‘it is not just in government that people are compromised, but within our own newsrooms; this has been happening quite frequently.’ Sources are not protected within the newsroom, regardless of the size of the media outlet; this requires journalists to be cautious in their work and to contemplate what to reveal to co-workers. ‘There is a lot of mistrust between them [journalists]...with some of them serving as sources to the culprits their media houses are planning to report on.’ A media practitioner described the general atmosphere in the newsroom and beyond as being ‘a prison, you can’t hide.’ Regarding the protection of sources, some believe that ‘prior to the enactment of this law there was some element of protection in the courts.’ According to a panellist, ‘Information “for the public good” could be made available freely, as established in the Guardian/Sun case.’11 The publication of stories on the Tholwana-Borethe report (which was later revealed as fake) was ‘allegedly authored by some editors.’ The incident resulted in editors being ‘taken to the police station...to be interrogated,’ in an attempt to reveal and charge the alleged author. The identity of the author has not yet been disclosed. The report was leaked to media houses in July 2017; it alleged that the DISS was running a secret operation codenamed Tholwana-Borethe, intended to disrupt unity within the opposition party prior to the 2019 election. During the 2014 elections, ‘some of us whose family [members] were contesting on the opposition side’ were affected by break-ins. ‘Break-ins were happening 10 The Minister was then questioned by the DCEC, after which he published a statement denouncing his knowledge of the money found, suggesting that someone might have ‘planted’ it to discredit him. Source : http://www.mmegi.bw/index. php?aid=74839&dir=2018/march/12. 11 In a 2001 case brought by the Botswana Guardian and the Midweek Sun against the President’s instructions to withdraw all advertising from these newspapers. The decision for the advertising ban was taken after the publication of an article in the two newspapers, accusing then Vice-president Ian Khama of having abused his authority. The High Court ruled that a ban based on specific stories that were published, violated the papers’ right to freedom of expression, as the withdrawal was used as a measure to influence editorial policies. (Source: SADC Media Law: A Handbook for Media Practitioners. Volume 2). 16 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2018