ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 REGULATIONS VIS-À-VIS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE SADC REGION include statements such as that white people are more likely to be infected with the virus;65 that young people are unlikely to be infected with the coronavirus66, that corona virus can be cured using alcohol,67and that the virus can be killed using heat.68The public often find it difficult to distinguish between credible content and that which is false or misleading or content that is harmful but not necessarily illegal. Botswana Under Botswana’s Emergency Powers (COVID-19Regulations the government declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19. The regulations criminalise publication of information, through any medium, including social media, with “the intention to deceive” the public about COVID-19 or measures taken by government to address the virus. Contravening this regulation is publishable by a prison term of up to five years or a 100,000 Pula ($8,100) fine or both.69The regulations confine dissemination of COVID-19 information to the public to the Director of Health Services and the WHO. Government responses to disinformation in the sadc region In order to respond to the proliferation of the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’, governments in the SADC region ensured that responses to COVID-19 included regulations that criminalise publication and dissemination of false news. The regulations are similar across the sub-region and include sanctions in the form of fines and imprisonments. Curbing disinformation is ideally meant to prevent panic and preserve public health and order. This section outlines and analyses the regulations from selected examples and arrests that were instigated for contravening the regulations. In addition, this section includes the role of stakeholders in combating disinformation. Namibia In Namibia section 15(1)(e) of the State of Emergency COVID-19 Regulation (Amendment) provides that a person commits an offence if they publish a false or misleading statement about COVID-19, a crime that is punishable by a fine of N$2,000 (USD 128) and/or six months’ imprisonment. 70 Lesotho In Lesotho, the government declared a state of emergency under the Declaration of COVID-19 State of Emergency Order 26 of 2020. The decree stipulates that the press should ‘refrain from publishing fake news’.71The sanctions are not 65 U Nkanjeni ‘5G, a vaccine & ‘white people’s virus’ — Covid-19 conspiracy theories the government has debunked�� 17 April 2020 https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-04-17-5g-a-vaccine--white-peoples-virus--covid-19-conspiracytheories-the-government-has-debunked/ (accessed 13 June 2020). 66 ‘During this coronavirus pandemic, ‘fake news’ is putting lives at risk: UNESCO’ 13 April 2020 https://news.un.org/en/ story/2020/04/1061592 (accessed 10 June 2020). 67‘ No, drinking alcohol won’t kill the coronavirus’ 18 March 2020 https://africacheck.org/f bcheck/no-drinking-alcohol-wontkill-the-coronavirus/ (accessed 10 June 2020). 68 Hot baths, hot hand dryers and other heat will NOT kill coronavirus 11 March 2020 https://africacheck.org/f bcheck/hot-baths- hothand-dryers-and-other-heat-will-not-kill-coronavirus/ (accessed 10 June 2020). 69 Statutory Instrument No. 61 of 2020 Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020 Emergency Powers Act (Cap. 22:04). See https://bw.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/125/Emergency-Powers-COVID- 19-Regulations-2020.pdf (accessed 13 June 2020). 70 Namibia State of Emergency - COVID-19 Regulation (Amendment), section 15(1) (e) https://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/researchunits/ litigagion/covid19_country_regulations/Namibia-State_of_emergency-Covid- 19_Regulations.pdf (accessed 13 June 2020). 71 Lesotho Declaration of COVID-19 State of Emergency Order 26 of 2020 https://www.gov.ls/wp- content/uploads/2020/03/Lockdown-Gazette-Lesotho.pdf (accessed 13 June 2020). https://zimbabwe.misa.org 17