- Allege DCEC deputy director is Magosi’s informer
- Say a raid on DCEC was designed to shield Magosi from investigation
GAZETTE REPORTER
Suspended officers of the Botswana’s Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), Paul Setlhabi and Pulane Kgoadi, have alleged in court documents that the Deputy Director of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) is an informer for the Director General of DISS, Brigadier Peter Magosi.
The two officers, who are currently engaged in a legal battle with Magosi, claim that Magosi has infiltrated DCEC and raids it for personal gain.
In their court papers, Setlhabi and Kgoadi accuse Magosi of working closely with a DCEC Deputy Director General whom they describe as “very close to him”.
Magosi’s interests
They allege that Magosi uses this senior officer as a personal informant, influencing investigations and undermining authority at DCEC to serve his own interests.
“Magosi uses the DCEC deputy director general who is very close to him to undermine authority at the corruption fighting agency and uses her as his personal informer on matters in which he has an interest,” their papers read.
The revelations paint a damning picture of institutional compromise, with the DCEC, supposedly the nation’s frontline anti-corruption agency, being manipulated to protect senior figures from scrutiny.
Abuse of office
Kgoadi and Setlhabi say their fallout with Magosi, which culminated in their suspensions and subsequent arrests, stemmed from their attempts to resist the Magosi’s actions. They are now suing for unlawful suspension and detention.
The two further accuse Magosi of orchestrating wrongful arrests and detentions to thwart investigations into the senior DCEC officer’s alleged abuses of office.
They claim that intelligence was gathered about possible fraudulent activities, abuse of office and maladministration within government parastatals, including the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) and Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), which cost the government significant sums.
Personal motives
The court documents also allege that Magosi unlawfully ordered a raid on DCEC, with the true purpose of the raid becoming apparent to the plaintiffs during its execution.
The raid, they say, was driven by personal motives of shielding Magosi from possible imminent investigations by DCEC and to protect the Permanent Secretary to the President from any charges related to the ongoing Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) and Capital Management Botswana (CMB) criminal case.