KHAMA’S ADMINISTRATION FACED CRITICISM OVER ITS TREATMENT OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM.
One particularly significant incident involved Outsa Mokone, editor of the Sunday Standard.
In 2014, police arrested him and charged him with sedition following reporting about an alleged automobile accident involving President Khama.
The US State Department’s 2017 human rights report documented the case and noted that the sedition charges remained pending at the end of that reporting period.
There was also a 2017 incident involving three investigative journalists who were detained by security agents while investigating allegations of public expenditure on Khama’s private residence at Mosu.
Freedom House reported that the journalists were threatened with being shot if they attempted to enter the property again.
These incidents raised concerns about intimidation and the ability of journalists to investigate the presidency.
Zambian Angle
