A local businessman and security expert with strong links to the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) was commissioned by the spy agency for a “black operation” against the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).
Confidential videotapes seen and studied by the Sunday Standard detail how the businessman (who cannot be named because of the DCEC interdict against this paper) was paid millions of Pula for a secret operation at the DCEC offices which was carried behind the back of the DCEC command.
It is believed that the businessman was engaged by the DIS to install surveillance equipment at the DCEC. During the interview with DCEC investigators, the businessman revealed how he was invited to do work for the DCEC but later turned out that the customer was DISS. The businessman would not disclose to investigators the nature of work he did at the DCEC, he however confirmed that while the work was done at the DCEC headquarters, his customer was DIS. Although he claimed that he initially thought he was doing work for the DCEC, he admitted that he was called by the DISS to submit quotations.
The disclosed that the first invoice for the work at DCEC offices was P4 million followed by another one for P3 million and in both cases the invoices were paid by DISS. Another invoice worth more than P1.8 million was also issued followed by another for more than P400 000.
The operation against DCEC was so clandestine that the businessman did not sign any contract document with DIS.
Sunday Standard investigations have also turned up information that during the entire period when DISS Director General Isaac Kgosi was being investigated by DCEC, the crime busters were not aware that the men providing security at the DCEC offices were DISS agents. The DISS agents were only removed from the DCEC offices recently, long after investigations against Kgosi had been concluded. This is in spite of the fact that the DCEC command was weary of possible infiltration by the DISS and had asked for support from the Botswana Police and the Military Intelligence. According to the DCEC “Action Plan” for the investigation against Kgosi which is marked “Secret and Confidential”, the Director of DCEC, Rose Seretse was “to speak to the BDF commander to formalise arrangements for the protection of DCEC staff involved in the investigation.
The DCEC Director also spoke to the Commissioner of Police to provide the DCEC with security. According to the action plan, the DCEC Director was also tasked with speaking to the Commissioner of Police, “as to precisely what support is being provided so that we are able to distinguish between friendly support and possibly not so friendly support.”
There was however a breech in security and DISS agents ended up manning the DCEC security without the knowledge of the DCEC leadership.
