Gaborone - Police in Botswana have arrested the alleged creator of the controversial photo-shopped image of a nude President Seretse Khama Ian Khama, which caused a furore across the country last week.
Botswana Police Service (BPS) spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Witness Boseja said the 36-year-old man was arrested in the northern city of Maun on Friday. He has since been flown to the capital Gaborone where he remains in detention.
Assistant Commissioner Boseja said the suspect, who is a computer technician at the statutory Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), will appear in court shortly to face charges that are yet to be defined.
Reports from Maun said after being arrested at his workplace, the suspect was taken to his home where security agents seized computers and other equipment they believe could have been used in generating the image, which the Office of the President has angrily described as "offensive and derogatory by any standard".
The picture, which purports to show a naked President Khama standing in front of Parliament Building on the occasion of the 50th independence anniversary, has generated heated public debate across the country with widespread condemnation, while others defended as freedom of speech and political expression.
The Office of the President slammed the graphic image as a typical example of abuse of the freedom of speech and warned that the law would take its course against the originator of the work.
African News Agency