MultiChoice Botswana scored a big court victory over Botswana's wayward broadcasting regulator as the Botswana appeals court slammed the over-reach by the Botswana Communication and Regulatory Authority (Bocra) wanting to impose tariff regulations on the pay-TV operator in the Southern African country.
In 2017 the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (Bocra) demanded that MultiChoice Botswana first submit its planned DStv price hike tariffs for approval by the regulator, instead of increasing its fees when it wants to.
MultiChoice Botswana went to court and was granted an urgent court interdict to prevent Bocra from suspending its licence and shutting MultiChoice Botswana down by showing that MultiChoice Africa is responsible for DStv tariff and DStv bouquets design.
The case then went to Botswana's High Court.
Botswana's Sunday Standard reports that Botswana's court of appeals judges slammed Botswana's broadcasting regulator in its judgment, with Bocra ordered to pay the cost of the court case.
Three Court of Appeal judges led by Justice Brand ordered Bocra to allow MultiChoice Botswana to continue with its business.
According to the Sunday Standard, the judgment found that it is "highly unlikely" that Botswana's broadcasting regulator will ever be able to find a lawful way to order a company like MultiChoice Botswana to submit its price increases for approval before it can do so.
"In so far as its seeks to control the activities of a third party, MultiChoice Africa though imposing conditions on the licensee, MultiChoice Botswana, its purpose and motive will always constitute an ulterior motive which would render the conditions thus imposed unlawful," the judgment reads.
The judgment noted that Bocra accepted that since MultiChoice Africa is a company registered in Mauritius, unless it voluntary complies with the legislative framework in Botswana, it is difficult for it to compel it to do so.
Justice Brand said there is nothing in the regulatory language to suggest that Bocra may impose conditions on licensees that are wholly unrelated to the conduct authorised by the licence purely to control the conduct of a third party.
