When spies Cry

TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Staff Writer
& LAWRENCE SERETSE
Correspondent | Friday May 31, 2013 00:00

 

So what happens when spies retire? Unless it is a trick question, intelligence sources say spies never really retire.Not peacefully anyway. But when spies retire, they find themselves lost in a new world, one leg in the old 'company' and another in the 'civilian' life with no benefits from either.

It is a fall from grace not many anticipate and many take in the worst of ways. After all the men (and few women) who do the work under the umbrella of the intelligence community, or more specifically the Military Intelligence arm of the Botswana Defence Force, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security belong to a hallowed few who would like to see themselves as the blue-eyed boys of the system. Under the Ian Khama government indeed they are, as the President himself proved with the John Kalafatis murderers.

In one quick swoop, the villains turned victors when the men who were charged and found guilty for killing John Kalafatis were pardoned by the President, freed from their prison, forgiven by their bosses at the Military Intelligence and reappointed. They now roam the streets again, clean as a whistle. But if life as a spy is royalty then life after spying is not life at all. Life after spying, some say, and a few have found out, is more like life after life - death by living.  

Former spies and those on the margins of the trade accused their former bosses of having dumped them. Former Botswana Defense Force Military Intelligence (MI) officers are disgruntled at the MI and DIS for not taking care of their needs, and in some cases even putting them under pressure from surveillance amid accusations of colluding with criminal elements they used to investigate. Retired officers have disclosed to Mmegi that upon leaving the force, their life is turned upside down and there are deliberately driven into hardship and poverty by their former bosses. Mmegi spoke to three former spies and one who still freelances for the intelligence organs to earn his way. 'It is not easy to leave the profession. Your bosses view you with suspicioin when you tell them you want to retire. That is only the beginning of your troubles,' explains one.

The bosses often outrightly refuse when an officer suggests retirement. When that fails, the organisation switches to pressure tactics to make the officer reconsider.However some say the coercion can turn nasty, like when some are framed, and then offered a way out through returning back. One former spy suggests the coercion could even lead to the concerned officer being hurt if not killed. 'There have been instances where an officer announces his intentions to retire and a month later he is found in some obscure traffic accident,' explains another former officer. They give an example of one former officer who encountered an unexplained accident a few weeks after telling his bosses he wanted to leave the service in 2010.

However, some say it is not death they fear, it is the miserable life. One says he doubts if the officers get enough counselling to face the challnges in their lives, during and most importantly, after their professional life. They explained to Mmegi that when they leave the force they are not offered any counselling and their family life has become more dysfunctional.  Some are said to have fallen on hard times. One such, based formerly at MI Mogoditshane but now in the north of this country is said to have turned to alcohol abuse.

The lack of a stable lifestyle then forces the organisations to be paranoid about what the retired officers may do with the wealth of information they have. One officer said their phones are tapped and they are often kept under surveillance. 'We now live in fear of both our former bosses and former criminals who might discover who we are,' explained another. Because of the sensitivity of their work, they say, it is difficult to get help if one fails to get assistance from former bosses.

'Ga gona ko o ka itelang teng le ha ba gana ka madi a gago,' explained one. Due to the nature of intelligence work, channels of lodging complaints are narrowed to only the Office of the President if they are disgruntled with their bosses within the MI, they said.Therefore, this channel is reduced to nothing by the fact that, those at the Office of the President can at times be misinformed and offer no help to the MI officers.However both DIS Director Isaac Kgosi and BDF Director of Protocol and Public Affairs, Colonel Tebo Dikole dismissed the allegations. Kgosi said his officers are in good shape and his organisation has had no complaints from within. Dikole refuted allegations that their former members were under any surveillance. He said that the MI stays in touch with most of the retired officers. He was not aware of any who needed psychological counselling or had a dysfunctional family. Dikole said the social welfare and chaplaincy office is always open to attend to the welfare and health of all its members, including the retired ones.

'The MI has no reason to bug the homes of any of its former employees and retiring MI officers receive the same exit packages and treatment as the rest of the members of the BDF. They do not have or need a special dispensation upon retirement,' he explained.Colonel Dikole said all retired MI officers have been paid their benefits. 'We are not aware of any outstanding payments nor has anyone ever come forward with such claims,' he responded.Insiders have disclosed that ex-intelligent officers may pose a danger to the security of the nation. 'You have to take care of such officers during or after their professional life or you risk them turning to criminal or even subversive activities,' said one intelligence veteran. 'It can be so bad that sometimes you regret having chosen this career in the first place,' said one former officer tears welling up in his eyes.