Of Shelby, memory, and Ndlovu's dilemma

TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Staff Writer | Friday July 11, 2008 00:00

One day two men break into his house where a scuffle ensues. The men overpower Shelby. They rape and murder his wife, although Shelby shoots one of the intruders dead. In the following melee, the second man ambushes Shelby and forces his head into a mirror whereupon he sustains serious injuries to the head. The injuries are so severe that they affect Shelby's memory. He cannot build new memories from then on. That means he forgets everything that happens in his life as soon as he experiences them. The only memory he has is that of the attack. Shelby goes on a quest to avenge the murder of his wife, investigating along the way.

So he comes up with a system to compensate for his condition. Whenever he discovers information that may be helpful in his quest to find his wife's killer, he writes it down or tattoos it on his body. It is through those tattoos and notes that Shelby is able to track the long-term progress of his cause even as he forgets minor events on a daily basis. Every morning when he wakes up he checks the tattoo and the notes and knows once again that he is engaged in a quest to find someone, what that person may look like and who are his enemies and friends along the way. The Shelby who finds and kills that man is a very tattooed, one but he does achieve what he set out to do despite the memory problems.

Two days ago, the Media Institute of Southern Africa's, Thapelo Ndlovu, was at a press conference held by the Botswana Telecommunications Authority head, Thari Pheko. Ndlovu indicated that he was suspicious of the recently announced initiative by the BTA that would see all simcards registered. He asked Pheko if the current exercise was not being done at the behest of the newly formed Directorate of Security and Intelligence so they could target innocent people, especially journalists.

Pheko dismissed that thought, saying the exercise is done internationally. Of course Pheko had other reasons too, valid ones at that, which he offered such as the fact that this system would help curb the abuse of the network by criminal elements in the society.

He said there was always a possibility that the system could be used by the security apparatus to target people, especially media sources, for the personal and political benefit of those in power.

'We know that we have a government that has made no secret of its disregard for the media,' he said. He said The Botswana Guardian fiasco a few years ago when the government withdrew advertising from the paper as punishment for its critical reporting, was a prime example.

'We have a president who, on his first day, dismissed the media as a trouble maker without even acknowledging the role it plays in a democratic society. We also know that a number of organisations, including unions have often complained of being subjected to surveillance by the security agents. Seen under that context, one could say the system could be open to abuse,' he said. He expressed hope that the initiative will be used for its intended purpose.

Just a week earlier, Ndlovu was again expressing concern at yet another initiative, this time the Media Practitioners' Bill, which was gazetted last week.

'This Bill is not friendly to the media at all, particularly when one looks at the issue of registration and accreditation. You have to remember that the media is covered by the right to freedom of expression in the constitution,' Ndlovu quiried.

He added that journalists couldn't be expected to exist under the same rules as other professions. 'First, journalism serves a special role in any democratic system and that is why a free media is seen to be central to a successful democracy. The practice around the world and in the region is to let the media be self-regulating. You cannot put the media under any particular institution because everyone and every institution has an inherent interest in controlling the media,' he said.

Ndlovu finds himself in that 'Shelby' situation of having to constantly connect the episodic for a larger pattern and a reading of that larger pattern in a society that somehow seems to be interested in each episode for its own sake.

Seen on its own, the registration of sim-cards is nothing extraordinary. In fact, as Pheto said, it is something done internationally. After all, who could doubt that the use of cell phones contributes a lot to criminal activities?

A Sunday Standard journalist, Reuben Pitse, told Mmegi that he found no problem with the system. 'As somebody who is against crime, I would say this is a good thing. The current system, where somebody could buy sim-cards, use them and discard them easily made it easy for criminals to abuse the technology. Many criminals would ordinarily communicate through cell phones with sim-cards specifically bought for the purpose before throwing them away,' he said. Pitse is right.

The Media Bill too, some have argued, does not really provide much of a problem. Most have argued that the media's problems, perhaps the relative failure of self-regulation to completely reign in the media, are an example of how the industry needs an instrument such as the Media Practitioners' Bill.

Temba Sibanda, himself a journalist by passion, argues that there is nothing wrong with the Bill. In today's The Botswana Guardian, he says, 'I welcome the proposed Media Practitioners Bill of 2008 with open arms, especially the item which states that Media Practitioners will be governed by a code of ethics and that those who will be found to be violating this code of ethics would be struck off the register.

Sibanda cites examples of media indiscretions that may be valid or not, but whose validity is really irrelevant for now.

Sibanda falls into a trap of obsession with the episode without understanding the series thus finding the stanza without finding the verse.

If he is prepared to argue that then, even the establishment of the Department of the Directorate on Security and Intelligence would be but an innocent event. Applying the same logic one would find the media fraternity wrong to question the timing of the establishment of the DSI. After all, the DSI has a very important role to play in the security of this country. 

What Ndlovu has been trying to argue all along is that it is more important to look at the episodes as part of a larger pattern and from that pattern a much more worrisome picture of media repression would emerge even as the episodes may show simple, innocent events. At each episode the government could pass for a very understanding one, but it is only when one organises the little episodes that one can come out with a much meaner demeanour.

The relationship between government and the media has always been strained especially as the latter sought to keep in check a government whose ruling party is becoming more and more powerful.

Almost a decade ago, The Botswana Guardian was engaged in a bruising tussle with the government after the latter decided that the coverage it got from the paper was unwarrantedly negative. Government decided it would withdraw advertisement as a punishment.

Politicians have no reason to love the media, but sometimes they have valid, albeit specifically self-centred reasons, to hate the media. The BotswanaGuardian remains the crystal clear example of that disdain for media. In fact, the government, regardless of its announcements that it is interested in widening media freedom, is actually not. 

The current top leadership of the country views the media, and all other institutions which do not fall within their sphere of influence with scant regard. But government is increasingly becoming top heavy with the leadership widening its net wider to usurp powers of other institutions and increasingly showing a worrying propensity to exercise that power. The examples are too numerous: the Executive vs Backbenchers tussle which ended with the latter beaten into a row and the Ntuane fiasco.

In his first speech as a President, Ian Khama indicated that he was worried that somehow the media was a liability to the society.

The other more interesting aspect of this is that the demarcation between party and government has collapsed, which brings us to the issue of the use of state apparatus to pursue partisan agendas.

The country's political history is replete with examples of this. The late Dr Kenneth Koma often cited examples where the special branch was set upon him. Of course, some people could take that with a grain of salt given that he was an opposition politician.

However, a few years ago, the 'Barataphathi' faction complained that state security organs had put them under surveillance.

However, if one really needed a much more believable illustration of this abuse, the recently launched autobiography of former minister, David Magang, offers a peep into this abuse. Magang writes that in the early 90s he was told that the Special Branch had been keeping surveillance over one part of the BDP for the other section of the party.

However, even more worrying is that the current leadership seems to view the media as some sort of aberration, a wild child who needs to be whipped into proper behaviour.

'Allow me to highlight some of the social problems in our society that we need to address as a nation. These range from alcohol abuse, reckless driving on our roads, disrespect for elders, vandalising of school property, wastage of scarce resources such as water, the use of abusive language in public discourse and defamation, slander and false statements in the media,' said newly inaugurated President, Ian Khama, earlier this month.

Which brings us back to where we began. Someone could ask: 'What is the problem with the president outlining his concerns regarding some of the misdemeanours the media committed?' There is nothing wrong if it is considered in isolation. However, that is missing the larger picture.

The Media Bill may not be that bad on its own. The registration of sim-cards may be an internationally recognised exercise. The DSI may not be an inherently unuseful body.

It is the context of it that matters. The type of leadership this country has, can make Ndlovu uncomfortable with the series of events. The media would be well advised to concentrate on the larger picture. Only then would a proper appreciation of the media's condition be arrived at. Shelby may have been discoloured beyond recognition when he finished, but he did win the day.