The Court has detailed how the Directorate of Intelligence (DIS) is abusing its powers by ‘clothing’ its misuse of the same act with the National Security Act. This emerges from a judgement in which the State appealed a decision of High Court judge Reuben Lekorwe who had ruled in favour of the former Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC), Tymon Katlholo. The High Court had found that DIS did not have the authority to seal the DCEC Director General’s office and ordered that all files within the office be placed in the custody of the court for safekeeping. In its appeal application the then Attorney General Abraham Keitshabe sought to convince the court that DIS was within its mandate and had the authority to question DCEC officers and seal the Director General’s office under the auspices of national security.
But Court of Appeal judge, Justice Isaac Lesetedi did not have kind words for the intelligence agency and then former Attorney General. He noted that “to try to clothe its acts with a veneer of legality, the DIS sought to rely on the cover that it was conducting investigations concerning the national security of Botswana pursuant to its mandate in terms of the Intelligence and Security Services Act.”
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