• DCEC, DISS & Police deployed officers to Seychelles
• They are fully paid by the Seychelles government – DISS
The Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) has confirmed the secondment of some of its intelligence officers to the government of Seychelles.
The Botswana Gazette has established that the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and Botswana Police Services (BPS) officers are among those accompanying DISS officers in Seychelles. These officers departed recently but a date on their return has not been specified.
Although Police and DCEC were unable to comment, DISS Public Relations Officer (PRO) Edward Robert confirmed these developments in an interview recently. “Yes, it is true, we have some of our officers who recently left for Seychelles, this was at the demands of the government of Seychelles,” he told this publication.
He further emphasized that the visit was in no way linked to the ongoing “Butterfly” investigations. “We need to state it on record that we have no officers stranded in Seychelles. Their stay in Seychelles is fully upon the government Seychelles. This visit is part of our capacity building exercise. Since last year, we have signed several memorandums of understanding with several member states. We also have good bilateral relations with the government of Seychelles.”
The Seychelles National Intelligence Agency was only founded in 2018. Robert concluded that Botswana’s intelligence service does enjoy some good deal of respect from counterparts in the SADC region as well as the African continent.