Draft Media Bill 2025: Reform or refined control?

Friday, May 29, 2026 | 120 Views |

Journalists at work PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

For years, journalists, editors, media scholars and civil society groups have called for the repeal of the outdated Media Practitioners Act, arguing that it failed to reflect the realities of a democratic and digital society.

Botswana’s Draft Media Bill 2025 arrives carrying both promise and suspicion.

The government’s decision to finally open the door to reform was therefore welcomed across the media fraternity. On the surface, the proposed legislation appears progressive, modern and consultative. It speaks the language of media freedom, self-regulation, editorial independence and ethical journalism.

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