The Mokone/Tsimane saga is a priceless opportunity
Tshireletso Motlogelwa | Thursday September 18, 2014 12:02
Even by the low standards with which the current leadership has been held this is a new low. It is important to also note that this new action comes at a time when there were attempts to repair the damaged relationship between the private press and government. This can only exacerbate the situation. Government’s action seems to be guided by an obsession with intimidation of the press at a time when the private press has moved to a more robust interrogation of government through a new dedication to investigative journalism.
We can only infer that this new intolerance is a product of this new pattern within the private press. We however celebrate this development within our journalism. We also have no option but to assume this action was meant to intimidate not just the private press but most importantly the cornerstone of serious journalistic work, the sources. The attacks on newspaper infrastructure by security apparatus exhibit an arrogant disposition poised to damage the confidentiality between reporter and source which is vital to serious journalism.
However this sad chapter in our media history seems to have served a positive role. The increasing togetherness within the media fraternity is one such product we have seen editors support each other. We have seen reporters turn up at court in sizable numbers. A by-product of this new clamp down on press freedom is a new consciousness.
However the most important aspect of this sorry tale is that it presents inadvertently an opportunity for the media fraternity to challenge the laws preventing media freedom and independence. The sedition law is one such archaic law that needs to be challenged. The Mokone case presents us in the media fraternity with a priceless opportunity to test this law against constitutional ethos.
Our wish would be to have these laws repelled. We have confidence in the judiciary to be able to apply a more open human rights framework for our modern society. The Press Council stands with not just Mokone and his legal team but with the media fraternity in this challenge. We furthermore urge all those who support freedom of expression to rally around this cause.
Tshireletso Motlogelwa
CHAIRPERSON
PRESS COUNCIL OF BOTSWANA