Civil servants hoping to punish politicians at internal party primary elections suffered a major blow on Thursday when a full bench of Court of Appeal judges ruled that participation at that level amounts to political activism and is therefore unlawful. The five judges, Judge President Ian Kirby, Justice Isaac Lesetedi, Monametsi Gaongalelwe, Zibani Makhwade and Singh Walia concurred in the interpretation of Section 5(5)(b) of the Public Service Act (PSA). It reads: "Notwitstanding the provisions of subsection 4, any person who was employed in terms of the Acts and Regulations referred to in subsections 1-4 immediately before the coming into force of this Act shall not be an active member of, nor hold office in, any political party". The judges all agreed that this Section prohibits public service employees from voting in political party primary elections and that such prohibition does not amount to a restriction which infringes on their freedom of expression and association as enshrined in the Constitution of Botswana. "The political neutrality of the public service is a source of public confidence, and provisions designed to preserve this must be given their full effect. Low ranking officers can have just as much impact on the service delivery…