Dissident is still teaching

The University of Botswana political scientist who was declared a prohibited immigrant in February after co-authoring a paper critical of his adopted country's democracy has yet to be deported and is still teaching at the university.

Kenneth Good's case was back in the High Court this week. Despite the threat of deportation after 17 years in the country, he has not kept a low profile. A keynote address to the youth wing of the opposition Botswana Congress Party on the essentials of a democratic government has further angered his opponents.

In mid-March, President Festus Mogae issued an affidavit explaining that he had decided to deport the Australian national because of "information received by me from sources I deemed reliable" that the professor's presence in Botswana was not "in the interest of peace, stability and national security".

Professor Good was made the subject of the order shortly before he delivered a co-authored paper questioning presidential succession in Botswana.

Professor Good's lawyers have sought to force the Government to reveal its sources for information that sustains the claim that he is a threat to national security. They also want the deportation order set aside as unconstitutional and therefore unlawful and invalid.

Professor Good said he wanted the Government to substantiate its claim and reveal the "link between what I have said and national security".

At the same time, a former minister in the Botswana Democratic Party, Daniel Kwelagobe, is suing Professor Good for defamation and seeking compensation of 1.2 million pula (£140,000). Mr Kwelagobe said he was defamed in Professor Good's co-written paper. This case could also drag on for years. Even if Professor Good retired at the end of his contract in December 2006, he would have to be allowed to stay in the country to defend himself.