Isaac Kgosi says he is going nowhere

SONNY SERITE

Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director General Isaac Kgosi has laughed off reports suggesting he will be leaving his job next year and that his replacement has already been identified. There is speculation within intelligence circles that the founding head of the DIS will be retiring next year after leading the DIS since its inception in 2008.
While media reports suggest Kgosi will be retiring because of age, as it is reported he will be clocking the mandatory public service act retirement age of 60 years, some are of the view that Kgosi will retire with outgoing President Ian Khama opening way for the incoming president to appoint his preferred head of spies and security detail.
Kgosi’s impending retirement has attracted a lot of conspiracy theories with some arguing that Kgosi is in good books with the incoming president Mokgweetsi Masisi and as such there will be no pressure to get rid of him when Masisi ascends to presidency.
Speculation on Kgosi’s retirement has been ignited by the recent deployment of Brigadier Sentsekae Macheng from the Botswana Defence Force to the Office of the President where he will be heading the anti-terrorism unit. In fact, it is alleged that Macheng is currently abroad for further studies on intelligence and security to prepare him for the DIS head role, which entails working very close with the sitting president.
Macheng is a former Special Forces and Anti-Poaching unit commander. Before he established the DIS, Kgosi worked at Office of the President as Khama’s private secretary and was later sent abroad for further studies on intelligence whereupon arrival he became the founding Director General of the most feared spy organisation in the country. There have been reports that Kgosi and Khama’s relationship has deteriorated in the recent past where at some point it was reported that Khama was under pressure to force Kgosi to resign but the spy chief stuck out the middle finger at Khama’s suggestion.
Responding to reports of his retirement, Kgosi who is currently outside the country on official duty said he has been made aware of such reports but refuted them as baseless allegations.  ‘‘They are lying. Since when did they become my supervisors to know about my retirement’’, Kgosi said in a brief telephone interview.