the monitor

Come and f****ng arrest me—Dow to Seboko

Unity Dow PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Unity Dow PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

While the Director of Research and Analysis at the Office of the President, Botho Seboko's founding affidavit makes reference to Dr Unity Dow's varying communications, there is one particular voice note that irks him.

Through his attorney, Dr Obonye Jonas, Seboko wants a restraining order against the Specially Elected legislator for her "unbecoming conduct of cyberharassment, cyberstalking, and offensive electronic communication".

According to court papers, Dow, who was over the last couple of months bemoaning harassment at the hands of the Directorate on Intelligence and Security and the Facebook pseudo account, France Museveni gaining notoriety, sent a scathing audio message to Seboko.

“Labouring under the false or mistaken belief that I am France Museveni, the respondent has taken to sending me obnoxious and odiously objectionable messages by way of WhatsApp.

For instance, on August 21 at 9:27pm, the respondent sent me a WhatsApp voice note with the following message: “Sir, my information is that after being the great leader of Botswana Council of Non- Governmental Organisations, you are now the great leader of propaganda at DIS, and my information is that you are behind this account belonging to Museveni and that my information is that you and other people, some of them at Comms have passed ways to harass me and you have been doing this for quite a while now... since last year and you continue.

"Consequences will come your way, maybe in the meantime, you will kill me? Maybe by that time, I will be dead? Maybe you will have cursed me to be arrested? Maybe you will have planted all kinds of things in my house, in my car whatever? You know.

But I can tell you, let me share a short fable with you that has this line, ‘bagolo ba ile, bagolo ba ile, e rile ba ile go disa teng, ba senya ka go ja namane teng teng...’ The moral of the story is that even if you kill that bird, it will sing to you, it will sing... you will kill it, it will sing... so I can tell you, even if you kill me, even if you harass me, even if you try to stop me, even if you harass my family like you are doing, I can tell you, there will be consequences for you as well. I am sure. Gatwe se sa feleng se a tlhola... who will you be? Continue that way, but this shall come to an end.

You are setting up a culture which you cannot get rid of overnight, whatever you have started is going to grow and grow and grow... and one day this will come back to haunt you and your people. You have started a culture of harassment, which will see the end of the rule of law in Botswana.

You and your colleagues have placed Botswana in a hole. It is a sewer. The Botswana we knew is no longer there. If you did not do this, we don’t accept this... I feel pity for you and your handlers. Come and arrest me... come and f****ng arrest me.”

Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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