Botswana security agents on Wednesday (8 March 2017) afternoon briefly detained and threatened to kill three journalists from INK Centre for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit journalism outlet based in Botswana. The detention which occurred in the central part of Botswana appears to be an effort to intimidate and harass independent media in a country lauded as the shining example of democracy in Africa. Seven armed plain clothes security agents on quad bikes and SUVs barred the journalists near Mosu village, some 600kms north eastern Gaborone and warned them never to “set foot” near President Ian Khama’s private compound or risk death. The trio – Ntibinyane Ntibinyane, Joel Konopo and Kaombona Kanani – had travelled to the area to investigate unexplained developments at President Ian Khama’s holiday home near Mosu village. This comes after members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and other government agencies are allegedly constructing a multi-million Pula compound for President Ian Khama at the tax payers’ expense. The alleged construction has been concealed from the public. While the three were driving on a dirt road and clearly several kilometers far from the compound, a group of plain-clothed men appeared from the bush and flagged their car and…
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