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The Patriot on Sunday

The Patriot on Sunday

A Sunday broadsheet newspaper that focuses on business and politics. It started publishing on Sunday

The Patriot on Sunday

20 hours ago

The Patriot on Sunday
MIKE MOTHIBI AT HIS FINAL RESTING PLACEMultitudes of people attended Veteran journalist Mike Mothibi's funeral in Kanye this morning, with speakers proclaiming the good hard working man he was.He leaves behind three children, one boy and two girls and six siblings - four brothers and two sisters. ... See MoreSee Less

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The Patriot on Sunday

21 hours ago

The Patriot on Sunday
Who will be on the Court of Appeal bench to hear & determine IEC appeal against UDC? *ADAM PHETLHE It is generally agreed that the case between Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is that of exceptional public importance. As a consequence, the case has so far generated a lot of public interest in terms of looking at all its optics. I predict exceptional public interest will continue way beyond the conclusion of the case. So who amongst the present Justices of Appeal will make the cut? It is difficult to say with a measure of certainty who will make the cut but to predict. Depending on the number of Justices required for this expedited appeal, I predict the following to make the cut. Justices Tebogo Tau, Isaac Lesetedi, Mercy Garekwe, Lackvinder Singh & Leatile Dambe. Former South Africa Constititional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde could also make the cut. All the above local Justices have sat on the bench in high profile cases notably last year's DIS appeal with respect to the search warrant for State House 4, the 'contested' official residence of former President Khama. In this case where there were 5 Justices, Justices Tau, Lesetedi & Singh ruled against the DIS while Justices Garekwe & Dambe dissented. It is my belief that Justices decide matters based on what evidence/facts are before them. That some ruled this or the other way in previous cases is, for lack of a better word, inconsequential. The Chief Justice has sat on some appeal cases I have had sight of. I think he will be disqualified in this one because he is party to an application on another leg of the UDC/IEC case. It will be interesting to see if Justice Tau will make the cut owing to a comment she made when delivering judgement on Wednesday with respect to IEC's request to have its appeal expedited. That comment (and I am paraphrasing) had to do with the intrusive nature UDC’s observers would cause if allowed to observe & monitor voter registration exercise. I believe this comment has already rendered her conflicted to sit in the upcoming appeal proceedings. Time will tell as to who will be on the bench when the appeal proceedings begin on Monday 11 December 2023. Or, will it be new faces? ... See MoreSee Less

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The Patriot on Sunday

23 hours ago

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#Available IN STORES #grabyourcopy #frontpagethisweek Main Headline: KHAMA OR BOKO?♦️ BPF prefers Khama as UDC chief campaigner FOR A DETAILED REPORT GRAB A COPY OF THE PATRIOT ON SUNDAY NEWSPAPER IN STORES OR FOR SUBSCRIPTION VISIT: www.thepatriot.co.bw ... See MoreSee Less

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2 days ago

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5TH KUSI IDEAS FESTIVAL UNDERWAY AT ROYAL ARIA IN TLOKWENG.#ikanyerona#mindsetchange#kgasoyapopota ... See MoreSee Less

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The Patriot on Sunday

2 days ago

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Good bye MikeMesh Moeti bids his friend Mike Mothibi farewell. ... See MoreSee Less

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UDC ON WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

patriot by patriot
December 12, 2020
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The Umbrella For Democratic Change (UDC) notes and celebrates May 3 which was declared World Press Freedom Day in 1993 by the United Nations. This day marks the anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration which brought together a number of African Media practitioners who were concerned about the state of the media and interested in the promotion of media freedom.

 The Windhoek Declaration calls for free, independent and pluralistic media throughout the world. It acknowledges and asserts free press as essential to democracy and fundamental human rights. This day raises awareness of freedom of the press and reminds governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) put it, this is the day to look and reflect at how society has treated the Media and how governments have either promoted or betrayed the media. The theme for this year is, “Press Freedom and Disinformation During the COVID-19”.

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has over the years not hesitated to use its numerical strength in Parliament to pass pieces of legislation that restricts media freedom. Amongst these battery of them we have the National Security Act, The DCEC Act, The Media Practitioners Act. The list is endless. These Acts not only violate the Botswana Constitution. They also violate international principles set out in the African Commission Declaration. Section 12 (1) of the Botswana Constitution provides that “except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression… and freedom from interference with his correspondence”.

Principle IX (2) of the African Commission Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression says that “any regulatory body established to hear complaints about media content, including media councils, shall be protected against political, economic or any other undue interference. Its powers shall be administrative in nature and it shall not seek to usurp the role of the courts.” Principle IX (3) of the same Declaration states that “effective self-regulation is the best system for promoting high standards in the media”. Contrary to its claims that it is committed to press freedom, the Masisi administration has for the over two years that it has been in place failed to repeal the statutes that inhibit press freedom. Up to now it has failed to introduce the Freedom of Information Act. We will continue to push for its introduction to make it easier to access information from state and quasi state institutions. Like we have said before, the BDP has no reform potential. All it wants is to put its palm on the mouths of the people it governs and holding pens with them as they write.

We have of late observed a situation whereby some journalists allow themselves to be used by politicians to pursue their agenda. For journalists to be used by politicians to influence voting patterns in their favour is wrong. It compromises fair and balanced coverage. We also repeat our calls to have the state media transformed into a public media that will operate under a Board which will be free from political interference. The continued bias and lack of adherence to fair and balanced reporting compromises the strength of the fourth leg of democracy.

This day presents time for the media to reflect and assess if it is upholding ethical standards. The rate of successful litigation against the media is clear testimony that the media fraternity has challenges in upholding ethical journalism standards and practices. In most cases this could have been avoided if all sections of the media were professional. We applaud those who continue to uphold fair, objective and balanced reporting. As a proponent of self-regulation, we are worried by the collapse of media oversight structures. The nation has been left at the mercy of some journalists who would even boast that one cannot win against the media. We need a probing media that will watch over the other three legs of government. A media that takes its oversight role seriously and shuns brown envelope journalism.

Freedom House which is an organisation that has been at the fore-front of monitoring threats to media independence since 1980 states that ” a free press plays a key role in sustaining and monitoring a healthy democracy, as well as in contributing to greater accountability, good governance, and economic development”. While acknowledging the government’s right of reply, its response to an article on diminishing freedom of speech and freedom by Ink Centre for investigative journalism, was too harsh, intolerant and demining. Hence confirming what was raised in the article.

It is therefore difficult for the media to operate in this type of an environment. What has even made the situation worse is the introduction of the state of public emergency during which we have seen the suspension of the workers’ right to strike. It is also during this period that we have seen the permanent secretary and his deputy at ministry of health being dismissed. There has also been an arrest of the publicity secretary of the opposition Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and two bloggers at a time when COVID-19 has been found to be also spreading through detention facilities. These type of arrests are meant to serve as an example to silence the nation in the face of rampant abuse of public resources. We still remain opposed to the introduction of the State of emergency and call for its immediate withdrawal. The UDC believes the introduction of the State of Public Emergency was unwarranted and was used to promote secrecy and curtail freedom of expression.

We conclude by emphasising our strong support for media freedom, responsible journalism and freedom of expression.

Press Release distributed by UDC Communications. For any inquiries please contact Moeti Mohwasa +26 77 302 1911

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