Masisi’s alleged covert investigation of DIS boss
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday August 20, 2024 09:21
“In particular, prior to the arrests, we had been jointly charged by the President Dr Masisi, with an investigation. The instruction was issued to us personally by the President and had to do with allegations of wrongdoing wherein the Director of DIS' name had been specifically mentioned. The Permanent Secretary to the President was privy to this covert assignment and we reported back on the assignment directly to the President or through her,” they said. In a lawsuit in which they are seeking a collective of P4.450 million against the Attorney General (AG), DIS and BPS, the agents accuse Magosi of using arrests, detentions, searches and seizures to frustrate and discredit their specified convert work. They also alleged that the arrests, detentions, searches and seizures were unlawful because same were actuated by unlawful and improper motives on the part of the DIS. “The DIS boss acted malafide in that he used the arrests and detentions and searches to tarnish our credibility and to frustrate and discredit us for covert work we had been specifically assigned by the President of The Republic of Botswana, Masisi, which investigations revealed possible complicity by its Director General himself in wrongdoing,” they revealed.
The agents explained that they conducted investigations in accordance with the President's specific directions and reported to the Permanent Secretary to the President. Material gathered during the investigations was submitted to her for the President's consideration, which they noted was not necessary for such details to be disclosed at this point but should it be necessary such shall be disclosed in the declarations and in due course. The pair further revealed that Magosi was wrongfully informed of the covert assignment that implicated him and given material he should not have been given. “How the same information was given to him is known to us and details may be produced in the declaration and in due course. In order to pre-empt the investigation and to tarnish our reputations and to destroy our credibility, the DIS commenced a false investigation against us, the ultimate aim of which was to suspend us from DIS and possibly, ultimately, to completely remove us from the same,” they stated. Kgoadi and Setlhabi also stated that the motive was specifically to undermine the investigation, to tarnish their reputations and to punish them for the assignment and that the arrests and detentions were, further, intended to frustrate the continuance of such investigations and to destroy any evidence gathered during the investigations hence the frantic searches and seizures of communication equipment.
They said prior to the aforegoing differences between Magosi and them, there were some that already existed and it had been clear already that they were not wanted in the spy unit. “Whilst the investigation aforesaid constituted the primary reason for the unlawful arrests, detentions, searches and seizures, secondary reasons existed that had made us undesirable in the DIS and that further motivated the unlawful acts,” they stated. More on their lawsuit, the agents revealed that the DIS acted unlawfully in that it used the arrests and detentions to frustrate investigations on a senior lady officer at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), who is personally known to Magosi, including intelligence gathered relating to possible acts of abuse of office, possible acts of fraud and maladministration consequently costing a government parastatal entity significant amounts of money. Further the pair explained that the DIS or its DG acted in bad faith in that it used the arrests and detentions to frustrate them in their work due to disagreements with Magosi on operational matters involving high profile cases which directly affect the Directorate, citizens or the government.
“The Permanent Secretary to the President was privy to same. The arrests and detentions were to tarnish our credibility. Further the DIS or its Director General acted in bad faith in that the false investigations were meant to cover the wrongful acts of its Director General,” revealed the lawsuit. They further alleged that Magosi unlawfully ordered a raid on the DCEC for reasons which would during the conduct of the raid become privy to them and that the true grounds for the raid were known by him personally and by a senior officer at the DCEC. In conclusion, the agents mentioned that the raid was for Magosi’s personal benefit and was meant to protect his person from possible imminent charges by the DCEC.