Matters arising

I arrived in Botswana from Kaunda's Zambia, attracted by the country's multi-party democracy and relative efficiency. It already had a large political literature, and I soon settled into serious research and writing. My first published article of early 1992, ‘Interpreting the Exceptionality of Botswana’, reflected my enthusiasm.

On Friday 18 February 2005, soon after I returned home from work around 5pm three men appeared at my door. The apparent leader announced without preamble that he had a message from the president; I had been declared a prohibited immigrant, and had 48 hours in which to leave.

I needed a lawyer and raced over to Dick Bayford's office. A night of feverish activity followed, with Joao Salbany and Duma Boko. Bojosi Otlhogile, Vice Chancellor at UB, expressed his shock, and said he had known nothing of the impending PI. He offered constitutional advice to Dick throughout the evening. The immediate task was daunting. Papers had to be prepared to call out a judge of the high court on Saturday, when they are usually unwilling to appear in Lobatse 80 kilometres from Gaborone. The PI order effective on Sunday night had to be stopped and arguments to substantiate this assembled. On Dick's suggestion, we decided to fight on the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech. The essential documents were prepared and faxed to the court. A hearing could be gained.