In separate incidents in November and December 2023, two politicians in Botswana posted to social media the personal phone numbers of journalists Kabo Ramasia and Kealoboga Dihutso after the reporters sought to interview them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unwanted publication of personal information online\u2014known as doxxing<\/a>\u2014is an increasingly common form of digital harassment of the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On November 23, 2023, Botswana’s Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Beauty Morukana Manake, published screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation with Ramasia, in which the journalist\u2019s phone number was visible, on her Facebook page, which has over 63,000 followers, according to Ramasia, who spoke to CPJ, a statement<\/a> by the Botswana chapter of the press freedom group Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), and CPJ\u2019s review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ramasia is a freelance reporter who covers politics<\/a>, health<\/a>, and other news for a variety of local outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On February 1, 2024, the post was still live and contained screenshots of Manake\u2019s conversation with Ramasia, who asked Manake for comment on allegations that she was \u201cabusing\u201d her office, including by arriving late at events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the screenshots, Manake said the allegations were baseless and part of a \u201cwitch-hunt.\u201d Manake also said that she had been \u201cabused and weaponized by people using the media for their selfish \u2018political gains.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ramasia told CPJ that he had called Manake, asking her to conceal his identity or delete the post, and that she had requested an apology, which the journalist declined to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manake told CPJ that she felt unfairly treated by the journalist and accused Ramasia of deliberately attempting to tarnish her image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On December 19, 2023, Madibelatlhopo, a group that campaigns against election rigging and is affiliated with the opposition party Umbrella for Democratic Change, published Dihutso\u2019s phone number on its Facebook page, which has over 10,000 followers, according to MISA<\/a>, CPJ\u2019s review, and Dihutso, who spoke to CPJ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dihutso\u2019s phone number was included in a series of screenshots showing a WhatsApp exchange in which Dihutso, a reporter with the privately owned Duma FM, sought comment from Madibelatlhopo\u2019s spokesperson, Michael Keakopa, about the group\u2019s registration as a private company and its shareholding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of February 1, 2024, the Facebook post was still live, along with commentary suggesting that Dihutso was an intelligence agent and a member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party. Facebook commentators also accused him of being \u201cnaive and malicious\u201d and claimed that Duma FM was founded on the \u201cproceeds of crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n MISA said \u201cindiscriminate sharing of [the journalists\u2019] personal data\u201d contravened their right to privacy under Botswana\u2019s constitution and its Data Protection Act<\/a>, and created \u201ca hostile environment\u201d for reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the country\u2019s data protection law, a person who processes sensitive personal data without permission is guilty of an offense and is liable to a fine not exceeding 500,000 pula (USD$36,500) and\/or up to nine years imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement<\/a>, the Botswana Editors Forum said Madibelathlopo\u2019s comments were an \u201cattempt to discredit or attack journalists for simply practicing their trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dihutso told CPJ he had reported the post containing his phone number to Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to CPJ\u2019s request for comment via messaging app in early January, Keakopa accused a CPJ staff member of being connected to Botswana intelligence, said \u201cI\u2019m going to publish this conversation for Batswana to know what I discuss with so called journalists just as I did with that other pseudo,\u201d and told the staff member to \u201cnever send me stupid messages again.\u201d Keakopa did not respond to subsequent queries from CPJ. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\r\nThis content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists<\/a> and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
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