Police officers fear Magosi – Suspended DIS agents
Mpho Mokwape | Monday May 20, 2024 08:23
The Police Commissioner has been cited by the agents in an urgent interim interdict application. Pulane Kgoadi, Paul Setlhabi and Kuda Malikongwa said the police were part of the arresting team during their detention. They said the police were seemingly scared of Magosi.
According to the agents, they were arrested by members of the DIS and police, and that it was the latter who refused them access to their families.
Kgoadi, in her founding affidavit, said it was clear that the police service was being abused as the former had experienced warm interaction with the Commissioner during their arrest and detention.
“I genuinely doubt that the Commissioner’s office has, on its own, any motive against us. For the entire period of our service, the Commissioner of Police has demonstrated nothing but good leadership in our official interactions with her in our line of duty,” she said.
She said it was clear that the BPS officers were being abused by Magosi and the DIS in order to avoid direct responsibility for wrongful and unlawful actions against them. Kgoadi revealed that the Commissioner’s officers appeared completely scared when dealing with matters affecting the Directorate and would do what is wrong, such as detaining them without reference to charge and denying them access to families and attorneys. She added that they would opt for that rather than risk Magosi’s wrath.
She said it was for that reason amongst others that they seek the protection of the court. They pointed out that in one of their detentions, the police officers denied them access to their attorney, which resulted in the issuance of a statutory notice for contempt of court.
“I must state that the Botswana Police Service fear Magosi more than they fear the law they exist to enforce and the Constitution they swore to defend,” she said.
Meanwhile, the agents said it was clear that Magosi or his team comprising members of the Botswana police and Directorate believe that they have powers to arrest and detain them if they are in disagreement or when they give answers the officers do not want to hear.
They explained that such powers only exist where people have committed offences and where the arrests and detentions are for the specific purpose of facilitating criminal investigations. The agents said detentions are not facilities for breaking the will of suspects or extracting information from them. They said that there is no authority in law and in fact upon Magosi to arrest and detain, in police cells, his subordinates for purposes of forcing them to comply with purely administrative orders and for keeping them in custody until they comply with such.
“Our latest arrest was expressly to force us to comply with alleged administrative orders as outlined in paragraph five of our suspension letters. I have looked at all the Directorate statutes and regulations and I have found no authority for such powers. I challenge the respondents to point to such if they know any and to state the source of the powers for the arbitrary searches, seizures, arrests and detentions they have undertaken and that we live under threat,” Kgoadi challenged.
Further, she mentioned that she had complied substantially with the orders anyway and if indeed she was arrested and detained for the phones, it remains unknown why Setlhabi was arrested since he had not been in possession of any government property.
“Meanwhile, Malikongwa was dispossessed by one Mangoyi’s team of her two personal phones and an official phone on her first arrest. On May 2, 2024, she was summoned to the Directorate offices where she was told to hand over the PINs to her personal phones and to the official phone and password to her work email in order that the team may access her communication. She refused. We verily apprehend that the harassment and the unlawful demands will continue until her will has been broken and she surrenders access to her private communication,” explained Kgoadi. In conclusion, Kgoadi pointed out that Malikongwa was too arrested on March 23, 2024, detained on the same date and released on March 25, 2024.
“Her mother was subjected to a search of her person and her motor vehicle. Her mother has no relationship with the Directorate whatsoever. Having refused to release her PIN’s among others, she was told that she was refusing an order,” lastly said Kgoadi.