The Botswana Gazette understands that the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee will hold a meeting with Directorate of Intelligence and Security head Isaac Kgosi this Friday to ask him to resign.
A member of the committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity said five of the eight members of the committee have already decided that Kgosi should step aside while he is being investigated “Kgosi is now dragging the name of the DIS in the mud, and we have to protect this good name,” said the member.
The committee which is made up of Chairman Kagiso Molatlhegi, Bagalatia Arone, Phillip Makgalemele, Moeng Pheto, Charles Tibone, Mephato Reatile, Slumber Tsogwane and Raynor Makosha will seek other means to force Kgosi’s resignation should he fail to resign as per request, the source said. He said they will get an ordinary member of parliament to pass a motion against Kgosi in parliament, with their full backing.
It is understood that Tibone, Arone, Pheto, Makgalemele and Reatile are the five committee members who want Kgosi to resign.
The Committee Chairman Molatlhegi has confirmed that they will hold a meeting with Kgosi, but refused to say when. “We will meet him but I will not tell you when,” he said and declined to answer further questions.
Arone confirmed the allegations by the unnamed source saying the committee was going to ask him to go. “We are clear, he has to step down. It’s a resolution we are going to pass and majority has agreed.”
Arone also confirmed that there was an attempt to meet last week, but the meeting was postponed at the committee’s request because majority of the members were not in. He said Kgosi’s issue is sensitive because he is a leader, adding that they were also under pressure as a committee because they want their voice to be heard.
Tsogwane dismissed allegations that he is party to any resolution by the committee as he did not know anything about the resolution. Other members could not be contacted for comment as their mobile phones did not go through at the time of press.
Kgosi declined to comment on the matter saying he does not speak to media.
Sociology lecturer at the University of Botswana, Professor Monageng Mogalakwe is however of the view that the committee is powerless to do anything. Mogalakwe said they answered to the President and not Parliament. He further took a swipe at BDP members of parliament saying they are cowardly. “Kgosi did not enact the DIS law himself, the law was passed by the BDP dominated Parliament, and it is this committee of Parliament that should demand answers from President Khama about Kgosi,” he said. “I think they are just cowards,” he said.
DIS commenced operations on April 1, 2008, when Khama was inaugurated as the fourth President of Botswana. The DIS was succeeding the short lived Security Intelligence Services (SIS) which had succeeded the Special Branch in April, 1998.