African Media Barometer Botswana 2018 Summary The provision for freedom of expression is explicitly guaranteed in Botswana’s Constitution ‘but there are no laws that breathe life into that particular right.’ Instead, there are a raft of laws with clauses that negate the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, including the Cinematography Act, the Public Service Act, the Media Practitioners Act, the National Security Act, the Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act of 2007 and the Corruption and Economic Crime Act of 1994; Sections 50 and 51 of the Penal Code on seditious offences, Sections 90 to 92 of the Penal Code containing provisions on insult laws and Sections 192 to 199 of the Penal Code providing for criminal defamation. ‘It is a mark of authoritarianism when you have a whole list of legal instruments that take away what the Constitution attempts to entrench...’ quipped one panellist. The more insidious threat to freedom of expression, however, is the culture of fear and apprehension that has permeated through society over the last decade. Citizens were wary of being spied on by their friends, neighbours, peers and colleagues who could inform on them. This fear of informers stemmed from the ruthless manner in which the former President dealt with dissenters. From the time former President Khama took office, through succession in 2008 and election in 2009; there have been reports of alleged extra-judicial killings, torture and harassment of members of the public by agents from the Directorate on Intelligence and Security Services (DISS). The media sector was not spared – there have been numerous reported cases of journalists and media houses being harassed, threatened, assaulted and arrested. The intimidation of citizens began a year into former President Khama’s leadership, when he established the spy agency – DISS – with loosely defined powers and directly answerable to him. Intolerant of opposing views, former President Khama allowed DISS wide-ranging powers to arrest, seize and detain without warrant; all of which was legitimised by contents of the Intelligence and Security Services Act of 2007. DISS, together with the anti-corruption agency – the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) – operated in a seemingly partisan manner to protect the interests of members of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) elite. Instead of acting as separate entities, the two agencies seemingly acted in concert to squelch certain high-profile cases involving political elites. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2018 5