When news about the alleged defilement in Sebina purportedly by the area councillor broke out, there were conflicting views bandied about. However, the unifying theme seems to have been that a crime of a sexual nature has been committed by a high profile local-level politician and a village tycoon. While social media went abuzz about the incident, there was no word from law enforcement agencies, particularly the Botswana Police Service who are supposedly fascinated by sex and/or spousal related scandals and often quick to be among the first to break the sumptuous news. The Education Ministry also decided to show an infectious lack of interest in the matter while he alleged molester’s political family, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) decided to play dead lazily whispering that the issue was being blown out of proportions by political opponents.
As a result of lack of veritable information from authoritative sources, conspiracy theories started to fly about insinuating that the victim was from a poor family and has no match for the alleged culprit hence the inaction of the state. The silence from the side of the powers that be appeared as veiled support for the suspect and a painful reminder about the toxic politics of patronage. This raised fears of a possible miscarriage of justice in the context of prejudice against the victim’s social class. These fears were emboldened by the rumour that a driver was being framed for rape to save the moneyed chap. Amid the deafening silence and the inaction by the authorities, social media took to the challenge in creating a hype around the matter so that it could not be swept under the carpet to protect the wealthy suspect. The media hype ultimately transformed into an organized group called Women and Man Against All Sexual Abuse of Children aimed at ensuring that the matter was given serious attention.
This informal pressure group mobilized the public to petition the government and express disapproval and discontent in my different ways so that the alleged crime was never wished away by privileged people. The campaign named ÔëáIshallNotForget became a potent, advanced and global call for action against the suspected molester. Perhaps sensing humiliation from sustained pressure, the state started mumbling though reluctantly by issuing incoherent, conflicting and half-hearted messages of condemnation of any form of child abuse. Their massages bluntly reminded people that the victim of was not the first and perhaps not the last because such practice is common and may be acceptable. This seems to imply that protesters were unnecessarily being over-dramatic by making noise out of nothing.
However, it was clear that the erstwhile powerful state organs were now cracking under pressure; being forced to act much against their will. The Minister of Education and Skills Development had to address the nation and share government’s position on this controversy. The Botswana Police also had to come out and update the nation about their own investigations. At this stage it was apparent that the pressure from the civic group was bearing fruit. This realization and the imminent victory did not however cause the pressure group to lull but rather it energized them to intensify their efforts to get justice for the poor girl and her family by creating public awareness and pushing the government to take action against the suspect or brace for a potentially damaging private prosecution.
The pressure group decided to make a further push by taking to the streets to hold peaceful demonstrations to protest against all forms of child abuse. It is generally acknowledged that in democratic societies protests are contentious manifestations of social discord. Essentially, the right to protest is a defining feature of liberal democracy. Protests generate interest and energize the masses to actively participate in activities planned for public expression of discontentment. They generally attract public attention, generate excitement and raise social and political awareness. They create a wild atmosphere for definite and spontaneous action. They bring people, especially powerless and voiceless people together to express their grievances in a non-violent way. It is believed that an individual’s decision to join a protest march or demonstration is a person’s most powerful means of expression that s/he is committed to a particular cause. The act of assembly and the accompanying individually or collectively composed messages constitute a powerful expression of strong objection and can hardly be disregarded whimsically.
This perhaps explains why the government immediately switched to overdrive when they eventually came to reckon the protesters meant business and were not going to be silenced or made to forget about the alleged crime by the inaction of the relevant authorities. Even President Dr Khama who is known for his rooftop diplomacy and outspokenness especially on issues of lack of discipline but had for some reasons decided to keep quiet, had to come out to condemn the action of the councillor and others having intimate relations with minors. At this point it mattered very little that his words came late and were largely tepid and did not show any emotions whatsoever. The significance of his half-hearted statement was that he has been forced to speak on the matter. This is not a mere symbolic victory. It is a huge, distinctive victory in letter and spirit. Fundamentally, the victory by the hurriedly assembled civic group is historical in many ways but two such stands out.
First, the activities of the pressure group reaffirmed that protests, mostly but not exclusively non-violent protests, are an integral part of a democratic process. They nurture democracy and are an essential tool for consolidating a democratic culture.
Second and most importantly, the victory has demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt that unless taken to task the state will always take side with those who are privileged and is likely to shield them whenever they are suspected to have committed a crime. That being the case, collective intervention by those on the wrong side of the poverty line is mandatory if they are to get some justice. Events central to the Sebina controversy show that covert efforts were indeed made by the authorities at certain levels to kill the noise and had it not been the sustained campaigns and the resulting public uproar, there wouldn’t be any case to talk about.
In this respect, the protest marches, demonstrations and petitions represented the depths of despair among the less privileged and their determination to be taken seriously despite their nothingness. By compelling the government out of their comfort zones, the peaceful protests serve as a loud and clear message that government can only serve the poor if it is pushed against a wall. It should also be noted that more often than not, protests (peaceful and/or violent) happen because governments ignores and take people for granted. A lot of young people are idling due to high levels of unemployment and protests marches present golden opportunities for these people to express their frustrations, anger and resentment. Any attempts to deny them the opportunity to march and express their frustrations may actually enrage them to a point where they can cause widespread looting, prolonged dissent and carnage.
Considering that protests are generally foreign in Botswana in comparison with neighbouring democracies such as South Africa, but that they are essential in forcing the state into action, it could be advisable for Batswana to warm up to them and start taking them seriously in dealing with our rather rigid and indifferent government. While demonstrations or protests may at times become violent as people’s rage reach the upper explosive limits, they nevertheless often succeed in forcing governments to act and therefore are a better option to draw out the attention of the government and make them act accordingly and almost always in favour of the protesters.
