Gaborone â A journalist has filed assault charges against Zimbabweâs ambassador to Botswana who he says attacked him over an article he wrote. Hloniphani Chengeta, a journalist for Botswanaâs Sunday Tribune claimed Phelekezela Mphoko grabbed him and held him against a wall after the diplomat objected to a report he had written. âWe have received a complaint and we are dealing with it,â Botswanaâs Police Commissioner, Norman Malebogo said. It is unclear whether Mphokoâs diplomatic immunity would frustrate attempts to prosecute him.
The incident followed the publishing of an article in which the journalist quoted the information and publicity secretary of Zimbabweâs ruling party, Nathan Shamuyarira, saying that Botswana was being used by British and US troops to launch a regime change in Zimbabwe. Shamuyarira was also quoted as claiming that Botswana was working with Zimbabweâs opposition party and Western powers to remove President Robert Mugabe from power. Chengeta said that Mphoko âgrabbed me by the scruff of the neck and held me against the wall. One of my colleagues managed to pull him off.â |