I wrote this story about two years ago, I thought of it as a cautionary tale at the time; my fears of where my country might be heading. It's odd that now, two years later it is published, and it appears less like a futuristic work.
A few weeks ago journalist Sonny Serite and civil servant Abueng Sebola were arrested for leaking a document about alleged corruption in the Office of the President. (See story here. ) Now suddenly my story, published yesterday at The Kalahari Review seems nearly prophetic, unfortunately. I hope not. I hope we're at the tipping point and things will begin to come right.
An excerpt from The Goat:
"The internet was curtailed, no more social networks. According to those in power they were “against Setswana culture”. This made it even harder to know what was happening. Made the isolation more pronounced. Phones were tapped for national security. Most anything was considered an insult to the president, grounds for imprisonment. If you complained that the blackouts were getting longer and longer, you were an enemy of the state. If you went to political meetings that were not for the ruling party, you were violating new rules governing congregation. The rules and barriers were everywhere, it was impossible to stay on the straight and narrow because the straight and narrow was thinner with each passing day."
Read the rest of the story HERE.
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