... Some members of the Apostle Church of God, which is believed to have close to 50,000 followers across the country, have vowed not to allow health authorities to immunise their children on religious grounds, saying that their members use neither traditional nor modern medicine because they believe illness can only be healed by prayer. Their children are also forbidden to attend school or receive formal education, and are instead taught skills that enable to them to run informal, home-based businesses.
| See? Islam doesn't have an exclusive lock on ignorance... |
| Though the Apostles haven't yet cut anyone's head off... |
Following resistance to the first round of polio vaccination last month, the government applied to the High Court, seeking an order to compel all parents or guardians of children under five to allow authorised health staff to perform the immunisation. The High Court subsequently issued an order giving police the authority to "access any house, vehicle, school or property where it is suspected any children within the specified age group are hidden for purposes of evading or frustrating the National Polio Immunisation Campaign". Any parent or guardian refusing to allow health personnel to immunise a child would be guilty of an offence in terms of the Public Health Regulations, which carries the penalty of a three-month jail sentence or a fine of Pula 500 (US $105), or both.
| Which, despite my libertarian instincts, seems to make sense as national policy. |
Police have since cracked down on the Apostle Church of God sects, arresting several parents and guardians in towns as well as outlying districts. Most of the arrests took place around the central town of Serowe, parts of the capital city, Gaborone, and Francistown in the northeast. |