Kgosietsile Ngakaagae signals sweeping prosecutions as forensic audit looms, warning ministers, senior officials and politically connected figures that decades of alleged abuse of public funds could soon face the courts
INSIDE STORY
DPP Targets Elite Corruption
Declares “no sacred cows,” vowing to pursue justice without fear or favour, warning that the office will not tolerate interference
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions has declared open season on high-level corruption, warning that ministers, permanent secretaries, senior civil servants and politically connected figures who looted public funds over the past two decades will face prosecution.
Director of Public Prosecutions Kgosietsile Ngakaagae said no office bearer, past or present, will be spared as the state prepares to act on findings from the national forensic audit expected to expose misuse of public resources across government.
Ngakaagae made it clear that wealth, influence, rank or political connections will not protect anyone once evidence emerges, signalling what could become one of the most far-reaching anti-corruption offensives in Botswana’s recent history.
20 YEARS
He said the law allows the DPP to pursue corruption-related offences going back 20 years, placing multiple administrations under potential scrutiny.
“We are not going to discriminate against any administration, be it Duma Boko’s, Mokgweetsi Masisi or Ian Khama. Whenever a crime was committed, if past or present administrators have overlooked it, we will take it up,” Ngakaagae stated.
The remarks indicate that prosecutions could cut across political eras, potentially drawing former and current office bearers into court if wrongdoing is uncovered.
ENABLING ABUSE OF POWER
Ngakaagae also said corruption within the state often thrives through insiders who enable abuse of power and misuse of funds.
“When a former minister is in the dock, without breaching ethics, we will make sure it is a teaching moment for the whole country. There are people who open the door to corruption. It is the senior civil servants, directors, permanent secretaries, ministers and presidents. That is how corruption festers,” the DPP Director explained.
He further painted a grim picture of systemic failures within public institutions, arguing that theft of state resources cannot happen without cooperation from officials entrusted to safeguard the public purse.
CRIME SCENE
“The government enclave is a crime scene. That is the truth, that is where your money has gone. That is why we are prosecuting, they need to know. Private practice is able to steal from the government only with the permission of us as senior civil servants,” he stressed.
The hard-hitting statements are likely to send shockwaves through Botswana’s political and bureaucratic establishment, with attention now turning to the forensic audit and whether it triggers arrests, prosecutions and possible recovery of stolen funds.