The Special Task Team (STT), which is the elite and rarely talked about team of spies that has been tasked with destabilising the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) is the de facto dirty tricks department of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DIS).
The STT first made headlines in April when three of its members were arrested at a roadblock in possession of two elephant tusks that had been cut into small pieces and stashed in a sports bag. This gave credence to reports that that the spy agency was involved in ivory and diamond smuggling.
STT Director, Tsosoloso Mosinki, who for years has been lurking in the shadows emerged during an elaborate government enclave smoke and mirrors scheme to conceal the DIS alleged diamond and ivory smuggling rogue operation.
As part of the plan, the DIS removed from its armoury at their Block Three offices an ivory cache which had been stashed there for two years, and tried to register it with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
Sunday Standard investigations turned up a document marked “Confidential” dated March 31 detailing how Mosinki played a role in the removal of the ivory stash from the DIS vault a day after the arrest of three DIS spies.
The document reads: “I AIO Obusitswe Grace Matsapa of identity card number 961825905 who is assigned as Armourer at Grey House was on the 31st March 2017 instructed by the Commander STT Mr Mosinki to remove three (3) elephant tusks from the Armoury which I will be handing over to him. There is a long one and two short tusks in description. Mr Mosinki mentioned that the concerned tusks will be handed to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks due to the instruction he got from the Director General.”
The plan involved co-opting a senior officer of the Department of Wildlife officer to back the DIS sting operation cover story and corroborate their claim that they alerted the Department of Wildlife about the operation.
Mosinki is also the mastermind behind Operation Tholwana Borethe. In a 12-page report to the DISS Director General, Isaac Kgosi, Mosinki betrays his support for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party and motivates for the destabilisation of the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change UDC.
The UDC is made up of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), the Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana Congress Party.
In the report, the STT boss warns that: “BDP is likely to be deposed from power come 2019 General elections. This will have serious political implications that threaten our peace and stability. The UDC is also a serious existential threat to the DISS. There is a likelihood that the UDC government will dismantle the service and possible (sic) pursue prosecution against some officers. This threat cannot be taken for granted and needs to be given due attention”.
Among DIS officers who are likely to be prosecuted by a UDC government is Kgosi who has been investigated for corruption by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).
The spy chief is likely to face 16 counts of corruption from the initial 35 previously prepared by the DCEC. These include; The Barclays documents. During the initial stages of the investigations in 2013, Kgosi (or his associates) is alleged to have worked with a Barclays Bank employee (names withheld) to remove documents about funds he received from outside the country from the system.
The investigators found several missing documents at Barclays Bank namely the P100 million intelligence training payout; the fraudulent purchase of training premises by DIS; allegedly pocketed close to P1 million from Vladacom; suspicious cash payments; the P200, 000 Debswana tender; suspicious dealings with Power Force, a company owned by the Zambian national, Nsingo Jere; the controversial generator purchase; the suspicious acquisition of Gakgatla farm; the unexplained property; The Choppies money and shares and his relationship with DIS tax clearance agents.
