Former director general of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Isaac Kgosi’s close associate Teezzarh Seduke was detained last week after a joint team of law enforcers seized live ammunition and government trophy from his residence.
The joint operation was composed of personnel from the DIS, the Botswana Police Service, the Botswana Unified Revenue Service and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).
Seduke was among businessmen with links to former President Ian Khama and Kgosi that were raided by law enforcement officers over suspicions they may have been favoured and benefited from government tender contracts when the two men were in power.
Responding to the Sunday Standard queries this week, Botswana Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Senior Superintendent Near Bagali declined to share details about the arrest and the detention of Seduke.
“Go to the relevant authorities, as the Police we have nothing to share,” he said without elaborating further.
But Seduke confirmed: “The Botswana Police Service detained me on Friday evening (around 20h00), for approximately 12 hours, which means I was released on Saturday, at 08h00.”
He added: “I was detained by Botswana Police Service, at the Central Police Station cell.”
Seduke who is the director of Advanced Global also confirmed he was detained and charged for “Several rounds (I cannot recollect the numbers) of hunting rifle ammunition (which) were confiscated.”
Seduke claimed that this was ammunition that he had long forgotten to surrender to the Botswana Police as he no longer possessed the actual riffles and subsequently, the due licenses and permits.
“I state for the record, that the ammunition is not for “weapons of war” as supposedly claimed by some media outlets, but rather for normal “hunting” riffles that ordinary Batswana may own, as per applicable processes and law of Botswana. In the absence of the licensed riffles or due permit for the ammunition, I was charged with “Unlawful possession of live ammunition,” he said.
During the search law enforcement officers also discovered that Seduke was in possession of government trophies as five tortoises were found in his back yard.
“It should be noted that the tortoises were openly fenced in the garden. As it turns out, I was supposed to have applied to and been duly issued a permit by the Director of Wildlife, to keep the tortoises as pets. I was therefore charged with “Keeping of wild animals without the Directors permit,” he said.
The law enforcers also temporarily seized and made copies of several company documents owned by Seduke.
“These were financial documents, and this was not a surprise or an issue, as we were already informed of our up-coming tax assessment, by the relevant authority. This is why in the past November 2018 interview with yourself; I stated how it is unfortunate that we stigmatise the mandates and processes of our respective authorities, by attaching strong phrases to create a negative narrative around their due processes. This is unfortunately scaring many Batswana out of enterprising,” he said.
Sources say Seduke was also interrogated about his links to Kgosi and Khama and how he was the preferred supplier of DIS under the former director general as his companies won hundreds of millions Pula worth of tenders from the security intelligence agency.
“I was not interrogated per se. If you know that this was to be done, then I guess the time shall come. For this warrant-issued search however, the Botswana Police Service Officers informed me that, they were to “Search for absolutely anything that may be deemed or proven to be illegal,” he claimed.
