- Magosi makes important changes in the critical department
- Department was allegedly crawling with moles loyal to former admin
- Previous director resigned last December
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
Factional divisions are allegedly rocking the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS) after its head, Brigadier Peter Magosi, made critical changes in the legal department of Botswana’s sole secret service, The Botswana Gazette has established.
These changes, which were allegedly unwanted by some members of the department, following the resignation of its former director in December last year. The position is currently occupied in an acting capacity.
It is said these divisions are so serious that they are believed to have reached the attention of the top echelons of DISS. Magosi was unavailable for comment while the organization’s PRO, Edward Robert, did not respond to this publication’s enquiry at the time of going to press.
There are growing concerns that these divisions could soon lead to insubordination within the legal department that is regarded as the engine room of DISS. Information reaching The Botswana Gazette is that the nub of the problem was that certain members of this department were allegedly loyal to the previous administration and therefore exceedingly dangerous to the government.
“These people can easily sabotage any case against anyone any time,” a source said. “All other departments, including the investigations department, are only feeders to the legal department. At the end of the day, everything boils down to legality. That is why this department is very critical.”
It is said that one of the reasons the former director of the department (name known to this publication) resigned was the pressure that the department is constantly under.
“There were just a lot of cases before him, including the Wilhemiah Maswabi and Isaac Kgosi cases,” the source said. “Maybe he just could not take the heat any more.”
The new appointments must move with speed to secure convictions in several high profile cases, including the Butterfly and Kgosi matters.
Concerns of insubordination at DISS have cropped up before. For instance, Magosi was forced to suspend and investigate two intelligence officers who failed to arrest Issac Kgosi at the Ramotswa border post upon his return from Malaysia on 3 December 2019 in spite of a warrant to arrest the founding head of DISS who had skipped bail and stayed abroad for months being out and valid.
The two secret agents assigned to be at the Ramotswa border post were mysteriously nowhere to be seen at the material time of Kgosi’s arrival and the fugitive was assisted through formalities without so much as a whimper from anyone there.
“You should be asking yourself why he chose to use the Ramotswa border post out of all the other border posts in the country and why he travelled by road,” said one source. “Is it just a coincidence that there were network problems at Ramotswa border post that day?”