The New Law: Burning down the house to kill a rat
1984. Although this George Orwell’s dystopian book is less- known than Animal Farm, it has come to be the most relevant text of our time.
One of the many things Orwell cautions us about in his books is language, particularly imprecise language. Of particular concern was political language.
He saw it as a language that conceals rather than clarifies. Political language, he writes, “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
And if in doubt of Orwell, just listen to the political language employed to justify this Lucifer- inspired, Controlled Investigations Bill. They are trying to make Hell seem like Paradise, and sheer- evil seem like a righteous act.
I mean just for curiosity’s sake, who in their right senses would call for a law that legalises the use of fake documents, it is absurd, to say the least.
I mean, that intelligence services assume pseudo identities, especially for black operations is standard practice, there is absolutely no need to advertise it to the rest of the world through this Bill. In fact, the blowback effect of this Bill if it is passed into law is perilous.
Firstly, the whole world is currently fighting a losing war against cybercrime. Primary in the cybercriminals’ toolbox is fake identities and credentials. By legalising the use of fake identities, are we not cultivating fertile ground for cybercrime?
I mean, with essentially porous borders, poor controls and oversight mechanisms, and proliferation of corruption in government offices, are we not just creating a market for the sale of our national documents to the highest bidder?
Secondly, if this Bill passes, it is going to subject Batswana and Botswana documents to unnecessary extensive scrutiny, especially in foreign countries, therefore, unnecessarily making Batswana targets of immigration and customs of other countries.
But what do we expect them to do after all we stood at the podium and told the world that we are legalising the use of fake documents.
Orwell cautions, “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” This is very true, especially when there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims. With this Bill, there is clearly a fine text between the lines. Read between the lines, they say.
Hence, we are being bombarded with lazy, sloppy rhetoric, filled with meaningless buzzwords and clichés. Their political language is surely muffling the sense of what is being communicated, which is so indefensible, with an overlay of righteous justification.
And as a result, those who get caught up in this style of speech, both its speakers and its listeners, find their ability to think caught and shaped by their impoverished language.
They are no longer able to recognise a lie as a lie and a murder as murder because the language in which they speak is so vague as to allow them to consider a lie an alternative fact and a murder a tragic yet unavoidable accident.
My view is that this Bill is nothing more than a ‘ witch- hunt’ tool. As far as I am concerned, the ‘ buzzword’ there is “admissible.” They just want ‘ evidence’ collected through intelligence means, including but not limited to technical interception, to be ‘ admitted’ to courts of law as ‘ evidence.’
This coming from people who ‘ concocted’ the P100 billion theft claim there is a reason to be afraid, to be very afraid. The fine text between the lines is that the DIS is having or maybe having ‘ evidence’ against Isaac Kgosi and Ian Khama which has been collected through intelligence sources and methods that they want to bring before the courts of law.
My humble view is that this Bill is a continuation of the ardent hunt for Kgosi and Khama through other means. The Bill knows exactly whom it is targeting, as for the rest we are just collateral in this fight. In fact, the Bill is a clear demonstration that they are prepared to burn the entire house to kill a rat.
But the problem is when they are done with Kgosi and Khama, what are they going to do with this law, scrap it? No, they are not going to scrap the law, there would be someone else to take the place of Kgosi and Khama, you never know, it may be Masisi and Magosi.
Remember, ‘ Molaa Kgosi, o a itaela.’ While the police and intelligence agencies play a very important role in keeping us safe, they must do so in line with certain safeguards to prevent abuses of their very considerable power.
“They should focus on providing us with effective, targeted surveillance systems that protect both our security and our fundamental rights.”