DIS Tribunal headless a year later

Acting minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Shaw Kgathi is not aware of the next appointment of the Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) tribunal chairperson.

Quizzed on when the tribunal chairperson would be appointed following a full year vacancy, Kgathi had no clue on the matter and would not even discuss it any further. Kgathi said he was not well aware of when the intelligence tribunal chairperson would be appointed. He explained that he was in no position to say what might be the new developments regarding any appointment as he was out of office and thereby could not source the latest information on the matter. “I am out of office hence I am bound to give wrong information that has not been verified,” he said. Meanwhile the absence of the tribunal chairperson is said to be one of the main reasons that led to the collapse of the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee, from which two members Bagalatia Arone and Moeng Pheto resigned.

In an interview, Arone said they got tired of the undemocratic situation that was taking place within the country’s intelligence. He said together with Pheto they regarded the absence of the tribunal chairperson as undemocratic hence they decided to resign from the committee. What also further frustrated the Member of Parliament for Okavango is that the committee was hindered from submitting an annual report to parliament regarding the operations of the intelligence unit as prescribed in the Act. Despite this the last time the committee made a report was back in 2012, and it was never presented to parliament.

“Upon enquiry as to what happened to the report we were informed that it was misplaced,” he said adding that the report was handed over to the minister and Kgosi so that they could present it to the president. “We had no copies of it as the copy was supposed to be kept by the DIS and they did not have it.” The position of the tribunal chairperson became vacant after Isaac Seloko left the post. Seloko, who is a lawyer of good standing, was tainted by his political involvement and was seen as partial at the time of his departure.