the monitor

Apology not enough: Prosecute the persecutors

The humiliating court-ordered apology to be splashed across the world’s biggest newspapers and TV screens this week is more than just an embarrassment for Botswana.

It’s a stark, global advertisement of a shocking abuse of state power that must be answered for, not swept away with mere words.

Ambassador Bridgette Motsepe’s victory in forcing the government to publicly retract vile, fabricated allegations linking her to money-laundering and terrorism financing is a step towards justice. But let’s be clear: the government’s admission that investigator Jako Hubona’s sworn affidavit was entirely false and reckless isn’t the end. It’s the bare minimum start. To trumpet a "commitment to the rule of law" whilst those who weaponised the state against innocent citizens remain unpunished, is hollow indeed.

Editor's Comment
Violence doesn't solve anything!

Our weekly edition carries painful articles of people being murdered. Whilst some are classified as Gender Based Violence (GBV), there are still a large percentage of murder cases, which often happen at drinking spots, after people are heavily intoxicated. We have in the past carried articles where an individual was murdered because they refused to give someone a cigarette, and sadly this is where we are at now!In this very edition, there is an...

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