Defamation law - Towards politics of substance

At every national elections, hard-earned reputations are put to the sword. Candidates are lied about in the headlong quest for electoral victory. Those with little content- and they are many- very soon run out of it.

In the heat of contest and campaign fatigue, the end justifies the means. When that happens, the aggrieved can only look to the law for redress. I have hence, decided to have a case discussion with you on defamation.  What do we learn from the case of Makgalemele Vs Ya Rona FM 2012 1 BLR 553 HC?

Philip Makgalemele is a former president of the Botswana Football Association (BFA), a Member of Parliament and businessman. His troubles began the day he headed a delegation of the Botswana National Under- 23 team to China. It was in the run-up to parliamentary elections of which he was a candidate.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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