Botswana: Batswana Insist On Media Freedom, Favor Citizens' Right to Govt Information

Only half see their country's media as 'somewhat' or 'completely' free.

Key findings

  • About three-quarters (76%) of Batswana say the media should "constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption."
  • A similar share (77%) insist on media freedom, while 20% say the government should have the right to prevent the publication of things it disapproves of.
  • In particular, strong majorities endorse the proposition that specific types of information be made publicly available, including information regarding budgets and expenditures for local government councils (88%) and bids and contracts for government-funded projects or purchases (88%).
  • Half (50%) of those surveyed support making the salaries of teachers and local government officials public.
  • About half (49%) say the country's media is "somewhat free" or "completely free" to report and comment on the news without government interference.
  • Radio is the most popular source of news in Botswana, used at least "a few times a week" by two-thirds (67%) of citizens.
  • Social media (47%) and television (41%) beat out the Internet (36%) and newspapers (29%) as regular news sources.

While Botswana's stable democracy has won recognition the world over, critics say its media environment falls short of international standards for democratic media regulation (Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung, 2021).

Article 12 of the country's Constitution protects freedom of expression, freedom of the media, and the right to freely receive communication (African Media Barometer, 2018). But despite these safeguards, the media sees its freedom as far from secure (Media Institute of Southern Africa, 2023).

Botswana's police and intelligence agencies have repeatedly been accused of communication surveillance, confiscating journalists' cameras, laptops, mobile phones, and other equipment in order to extract information from these devices (International Press Institute, 2022). In 2019, a journalist for the newspaper Mmegi was ambushed by security personnel at her home and forced to hand over her cellphone (Rozen, 2021). In 2023, intelligence officers raided Mmegi's offices, detained an editor and senior reporter overnight, and seized their electronic devices - all without a warrant (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2023; Bartlett, 2023).

The previous year, the government tried to pass the controversial Criminal Procedure and Evidence Bill, which would have authorized state agents to bug private communication devices without a court order. But following expressions of outrage from the media, trade unions, opposition parties, and other interest groups, the government removed the most permissive clauses (Dube, 2022).

Botswana's challenges in promoting and protecting press freedom are captured in Reporters Without Borders' (2024) World Press Freedom Index. In 2024, the country ranked 79th out of 180 countries in media freedom, a slide of 14 places since the previous year.

As the country's highly anticipated 2024 general election beckons, how do Batswana see their media scene?

According to the most recent Afrobarometer survey, citizens broadly agree that the media should act as a watchdog over the government, constantly investigating and reporting on government mistakes and corruption. Most citizens say the public and the media should have access to information held by public authorities, such as government budgets and contracts. Citizens value media freedom and reject the notion that the government should be able to prevent publications it disapproves of. However, views are mixed on whether media freedom exists in practice.

Radio is the most popular news source in Botswana, with social media beating out television for second place.

Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa

Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa

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