Months after President Duma Boko received a forensic audit covering a decade of alleged corruption, key law-enforcement agencies say they have not seen the report or acted on its findings.
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
President Duma Boko’s long-awaited forensic audit has yet to reach Botswana’s principal law-enforcement agencies, months after he received the report and warned that heads would roll over wrongdoing uncovered by the investigation.
The revelation raises fresh questions over the President’s plans for the findings and how any evidence of wrongdoing will be converted into investigations, prosecutions or other action.
AUDIT WITH BOKO
Boko officially received the forensic audit report on 30 April 2026 from Moses Pelaelo, Chairman of the Project Steering Committee.
The investigation, conducted by international firm Alvarez & Marsal Middle East Limited, covered the period from 2014 to 2024 and was presented as a major examination of alleged corruption and financial misconduct during the decade.
Yet officials heading key institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption have publicly said they have no knowledge of the report and are not investigating or prosecuting matters arising from it.
AGENCIES UNINFORMED
Among them are Director of Public Prosecutions Kgosietsile Ngakayagae, Attorney General Dick Bayford, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Director General Botlhale Makgekgenene and Police Commissioner Dinah Marathe.
Their positions raise questions about why the findings have not been formally referred to law-enforcement agencies if they contain evidence of criminal conduct.
TRUST DILEMMA
President Boko has argued that the very institutions expected to act on the audit findings are compromised, potentially explaining his reluctance to hand the report to established law-enforcement agencies.
That position creates its own dilemma, according to legal experts: if Government does not trust its investigative and prosecutorial institutions, it must explain what credible and legally accountable mechanism will be used to turn the audit findings into action.
GOVERNMENT SILENT
Efforts to establish Government’s position were unsuccessful after Minister of State, Defence and Security Moeti Mohwasa referred The Botswana Gazette’s enquiries to Botswana Government Communications and Information Services.
BCP DEMANDS ACTION
In a statement this week, the main opposition Botswana Congress Party said it “will not stand by while that warning goes unheeded”.
The statement read: “The forensic audit itself warns: ‘The findings will not correct themselves.’ It demands investigations, asset recovery, implementation of recommendations and structural reform, and cautions that without these, ‘the same patterns are likely to continue.’”
MAUNDENI HOPEFUL
Political analyst Professor Zibani Maundeni told The Botswana Gazette that “Boko, by virtue of his position, would be aware of institutions allegedly implicated in corrupt activities”. He expressed hope that the President was genuine in his stated commitment to fighting corruption.
Former DCEC Director General Tymon Katlholo, while declining to comment directly on Boko’s remarks that law-enforcement agencies are compromised, said “Government can engage private investigators subject to existing laws and exigencies of the requirement”.
CREDIBILITY TEST
Some observers say the handling of the forensic audit is emerging as a major test of Boko’s anti-corruption credentials, particularly after the President’s earlier warning that those responsible for wrongdoing would face consequences. There is already speculation that some members of his administration could feature among those implicated in matters arising from the 10-year investigation.