Mmegi

Media catches ‘bullets’ in an election war zone

Armed with just their pens, notebooks and mobile phones, members of the Fourth Estate put up the smart phones shield wall but bullets kept coming under the boiling sky of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s Bulela Ditswe primaries in Ramotswa this past weekend. Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE relives the near blood incident from the trenches of GaMalete
Armed with just their pens, notebooks and mobile phones, members of the Fourth Estate put up the smart phones shield wall but bullets kept coming under the boiling sky of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s Bulela Ditswe primaries in Ramotswa this past weekend. Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE relives the near blood incident from the trenches of GaMalete

Armed with just their pens, notebooks and mobile phones, members of the Fourth Estate put up the smart phones shield wall but bullets kept coming under the boiling sky of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)’s Bulela Ditswe primaries in Ramotswa this past weekend. Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE relives the near blood incident from the trenches of GaMalete

RAMOTSWA: At Baitlotli Junior Secondary School (JSS), the media thought they were entering an idyllic place with soft white sandy beaches. But, it was a war zone as they were greeted with a hostile storm of brooms from some brute election officers inside the multi-purpose hall.“Don’t even dare come near, pictures are not allowed here,” they shouted seething with anger even before anyone thought of taking out their smartphones for a picture.

A war zone is a place marked by extreme violence and it surely felt like one when one of the angry men hurled warning shots at the scribes, literally pelting all sorts of arsenals including stones. The journalists thought that by indicating that they serve as the guardians of democratic processes would help. The angry men surged forward and it was like being attacked by a swarm of bees. As the cameras gleamed towards the political hellhounds, some members of the media realised that smartphones were not going to shield them from a horde, which was smashing into them.

Editor's Comment
Mob justice isn't just

A young man suspected of breaking into a car was seized by residents, severely assaulted, and died in the hospital within an hour. We unreservedly condemn this mob justice. It is not a solution to crime, but a criminal offence that turns citizens into murderers.Residents are understandably angry about theft. The person who raised the alarm at 4am acted lawfully, and the neighbours who rushed to help showed community spirit. But what followed was...

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