- Katlholo says DCEC is not involved in any such investigations
- Assistant director general and procurement officers arrested for alleged corruption
- Arrested agents said to be members of suspected anti-govt clique
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) is not part of alleged ongoing corruption investigations of employees of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS) who were recently detained and questioned by the police, The Botswana Gazette has established.
Three DISS employees, including an assistant director general (names withheld), were reportedly arrested and detained at Tlokweng Police Station last week. While details are sketchy, reports suggest that they were questioned about certain DISS procurements from which they allegedly benefited.
Sources say the assistant director general was asked about a particular tender at the Department of Information Technology (DIT) that goes back a few years.
It is said this individual worked for DISS under Kgosi and was brought out of retirement by Magosi.
In an interview with this publication this week, the head of DCEC Tymon Katlholo distanced his organization from the alleged investigations and operations that led to the arrests.
“We do not have any case against them (DISS employees),” Katlholo said. “In fact, we do not know anything about that operation. We also only saw it in the media. As the DCEC, there is a manner in which we deal with these matters, so it would be ideal that you ask those who were in charge of the operation.”
Attempts for reach the head of DISS, Brigadier Peter Magosi, proved futile because his phone was not answered on Tuesday. It is still unclear whether they have been released from police custody.
Sources say the effected DISS agents must have been targeted because they have previously been accused of being loyalists of former president Ian Khama and former DISS director general Issac Kgosi.
Since Magosi took over at DISS in 2018, the institution has been rocked by serious divisions, with many accused of leaking top secret information to forces hostile to the government of President Mokgweetsi Masisi. The said Assistant DG was brought out of retirement by Magosi in 2019. He previously worked for the DIS under Kgosi.