The senate academic freedom committee at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, would like to express our deep concern over the situation in which Professor Kenneth Good finds himself. We feel it important that our voice is heard in defence of the right of all university-based intellectuals to be allowed to speak freely without threat of intimidation or physical sanction.
Of particular concern to us is the summary manner in which Good was instructed to leave the country, without a reason being provided and without regard for his right to a fair hearing and the due process of law. In the absence of a clear reason for your government’s action against him, we find it difficult to believe that the presentation by Good of his paper, Presidential Succession in Botswana: No Model for Africa, would have presented a sufficiently serious national threat to warrant the heavy-handed response that he now faces.
We fully understand that the rights to academic freedom and freedom of speech must be tempered with social responsibility and accountability. In the same breath, these are important rights that must be cherished by all societies, organisations and institutions that hold democracy and good governance as core values. Intellectual freedom remains one of the most important defenders of such values. Our recent historical experience with the barbarism of apartheid has focused our minds on the importance of nurturing intellectual freedom in defence of our young democracy.
We therefore urge you to reconsider your intended deportation and to acknowledge the role of your government as protector of the right for all intellectuals — in general civil society and in universities — to speak their truths in an environment that is free of threat or intimidation. We feel confident that you will share our sense of the importance of this universal principle in ensuring that we effectively contribute to the social justice expectations of the Southern African Development Community, our continent and beyond.
This is an edited version of a letter by Professor Yunus Ballim, chairperson of the senate academic freedom committee of Wits University, to President Festus Mogae of Botswana to protest the threatened deportation of Professor Kenneth Good