Inside DIS internal wars

Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director General, Peter Magosi allegedly used the arrests, detentions and searches of the two suspended senior officers of the directorate to protect his personal interests in several investigations they were assigned.

The Officers - Director of Legal affairs, Pulane Kgoadi and Principal Intelligence Officer Desmond Setlhabi - have made startling allegations against their boss, whom they say they were investigating at the behest of President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

They say they were investigating Magosi, Air Botswana, questioning Magosi’s relationship with drug traffickers, illicit tobacco smugglers among others. According to court documents seen by Botswana Guardian, the Plaintiffs stated that they have been subjected to unlawful arrest, unlawful detentions and an unlawful search and loss of dignity by the DIS and Botswana Police services being Botswana government statutory entities acting jointly and in common purpose, alternatively acting severally.

“The arrests, detentions, searches and seizures were further unlawful because same were actuated by unlawful and improper motives on the part of the 2nd Defendant (DIS).

“The 2nd Defendant acted mala fide in that it used the arrests and detentions and searches to tarnish the Plaintiffs' credibility and to frustrate and discredit them for covert work they had been specifically assigned by His Excellency.

“The President of The Republic of Botswana, Dr Mokgweetsi Keabetswe Masisi which investigations revealed possible complicity by its Director General in wrongdoing,” a Declaration filed this week with the High Court -Lobatse Division, reads.

Kgoadi stated in the Declaration that in particular, prior to the arrests, they had been jointly charged by President Masisi, with an investigation. She said the instruction was issued to them personally by the President and had to do with allegations of wrongdoing wherein the name of Magosi had been specifically mentioned.

The Permanent Secretary to the President, Emma Peloetletse, was privy to this covert assignment and the Plaintiffs reported back on the assignment directly to the President or through her, she said. Kgoadi further revealed that they conducted investigations in accordance with the President's specific directions and reported to the Permanent Secretary to The President.

She said material gathered during the investigations, including an audio recording of an interview with a whistleblower or informant was submitted to her for the President's consideration.

“The Plaintiffs made a challenge to the Defendants to deny the President ordered investigation which the 1st Defendant (Attorney General) has failed to do in her appearance to defend.

“The Plaintiffs once again call upon the 1st Defendant to deny specifically in her pleadings, if she is minded to, the fact that the President had ordered the investigation.

“His Excellency, the Permanent Secretary to the President and the Plaintiffs regularly directly communicated and met with each other in the absence of the 2nd Defendant's Director General. Such communication included but was not limited to telephonic calls and text messaging.”

She indicated that Magosi was wrongfully informed of the covert assignment against him and given investigative material he should not have been given including the audio recording of the suspect/whistleblower specifically by the Permanent Secretary to the President who had been supplied with both documentary and audio material on the investigations. His arrests and detentions were, further, intended to frustrate the continuance of such.

“One of the differences that the Director General had with the Plaintiffs was over matters regarding the national airline, 'Air Botswana.' The Plaintiffs had been tasked with an investigation into Air Botswana regarding aviation safety. There had been concerns over the observance of safety standards.

“The investigation had been sanctioned by the Acting Director General of the 2nd Defendant in the absence of the incumbent Director General. The Chief of Staff of the 2nd Defendant was fully in the know and facilitated the investigation including soliciting the cooperation of the Air Botswana and the Civil Aviation Authority – Botswana,” she revealed.

According to Kgoadi, in their investigations at Air Botswana they discovered that Air Botswana were extremely poor in so far as compliance with aviation standards and requirements is concerned. She added they also discovered that there were transcended procurement, poor maintenance, poor flight operations and training among others. Several personnel in key strategic and technical posts in Air Botswana did not have the necessary

qualifications for the posts they occupied which compromised aviation safety.

These issues, she said, were discussed by the investigation team with the Civil Aviation Authority who confirmed that in statements provided to the investigation team.

Kgoadi stated that Air Botswana was in the process of expanding their fleet with used aircraft. She pointed out that during the investigation huge questions regarding the cost(s) at which the used aircraft were being procured, emerged. Preliminary investigations revealed that the aircraft were purchased and contracts signed without pre-buy and/or borescope inspections and other standard or mandatory due diligence requirements.

She added that the cost of reconditioning the aircraft to serviceability had not been properly assessed or established to determine justification for the procurement of old aircraft as opposed to new ones. She revealed that these failures led to suspicions of corruption in the aircraft procurement process of the aircraft which suspicions they were keenly looking into it.

“In this investigation information emerged that the Director General of the 2nd Defendant had had conversations with a UK based agent on the procurement of the aircraft. A cabinet minister was also mentioned in the enquiry. The Director General therefore was a person of interest in understanding the questions raised by the investigations.

“This, among others, led to frustrations on the Director General. On the 14th, alternatively 15th March, 2024, the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Defendant communicated to the Plaintiffs that the Director General had ordered the Plaintiffs' removal from the Air Botswana investigations with immediate effect which was abruptly done”.

She said having been removed from the Air Botswana investigation, they were still involved in the investigation ordered by the President against the Director General. The same came to an abrupt end too, she added.

According to Kgoadi, the DIS Director General used the arrests and detentions to frustrate investigations on a senior lady officer at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, 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 arising from unlawful suspensions of senior officers particularly at Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority and Water Utilities Corporation.

“It used the arrests and detentions to punish the Plaintiff's for raising concerns about the Director General's employment, in the 2nd Defendant, of an individual whose name is known to the Plaintiffs who is a convicted criminal and currently appearing for criminal offences before the courts.

“The 2nd Defendant sought to punish the Plaintiff's for refusing an unlawful suggestions by him to torture and to kill amongst others former press secretary to the President Batlhalefi Leagajang, Former Commissioner of Police Mr Keabetswe Makgope, and another former intelligence chief now deceased at the time they had been arrested by the organisation,” Kgaodi said in the declaration.

She revealed that Magosi took offence with the suggestion on the reopening of the Gomolemo Motswaledi car crash investigation when it became clear that more work needed to be done on areas identified as requiring further probing.

Kgoadi argues that the raid at DCEC was for Magosi's personal benefit and was meant to protect his person from possible imminent investigations and/or charges by the DCEC, as well as to protect the Permanent Secretary to the President from possible imminent charges concerning the BPOPF/CMB criminal case.

“The 2nd Defendant used the arrests, detention, searches, and seizures to punish the Plaintiffs for raising concerns over his communication or relationships with individuals in the illicit tobacco and the illegal hard drug 'katse' trade.

“In a conversation with the attorney of the suspected traffickers who doubled as his (The Director General's) personal lawyer, the Director General promised to the lawyer 'sort' the Plaintiffs and the team for a raid they were conducting on the traffickers. The lawyer had called him during the process of the raid and put him on speaker in an effort to stop the ongoing raid,” the declaration reads.