One of the Khama twins are reported to have thrown Commissioner of Police, Keabetswe Makgophe under the bus.
The Directorate of intelligence and Security Services (DIS) arrested and detained the Commissioner of Police following information obtained during the interrogation of Serowe West MP Tshekedi Khama, his wife Thea and his twin brother Anthony.
The trio were arrested and interrogated by the DIS a week before Makgophe’s arrest. Sources close to the investigations reveal that the information provided by one of the Khama twins, implicating Makgophe corroborated the information earlier provided by Zebra Shipping officials.
Zebra shipping officials were also arrested and interrogated by the DIS as part of an investigation into the missing arms of war.
Makgophe was last week suspended from duty and his office sealed off as a crime scene.
According to information passed to the Sunday Standard, Seleka Springs which is owned by the Khama family procured Fabrique Nationale Herstal arms of war for the Botswana Wildlife Department, while Tshekedi Khama was the Minister responsible for the Wildlife Department.
Herstal allegedly gave them one of the guns as a present which they passed on to their brother, former President Lt Gen Ian Khama. The Commissioner of police then, in violation of the country and international law, licensed the war weapon for Khama.
It is believed that as a result of the Khama’s and Police Commissioner’s omissions and commissions, Botswana may have violated the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) through the diversion to Ian Khama of military equipment covered by an end use certificate.
End-use certificates form a line of defence against the diversion of authorized arms transfers. These documents help to ensure that legally transferred arms and light weapons: reach their authorized end-user, are used in a manner consistent with their authorized end-use and are not diverted to the illicit market.
A source close to the investigations has revealed that the FN weapon used by military personnel which was diverted to Ian Khama was imported by Botswana with an end user certificate specifying that the equipment would be used by the country’s security services.
It is understood that Botswana may be guilty of violating the ATT because the “diversion point”: the moment when a weapon ends its “legal” life and begins its “illegal” one was in Botswana.
Botswana is signatory to the ATT which has various regulations targeting every stage of weapons’ lives to prevent their unauthorized possession and misuse.
In June 2019 Botswana ratified the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), becoming the 104th state to join the ATT. The ATT entered into force for Botswana in September 2019, 90 days after their ratification. By ratifying the ATT Botswana bound itself to take domestic measures to monitor the transfer of arms.
Besides the principles included in the ATT, practical control measures for transfers of weapons are included in several regional and international agreements developed in the past 13 years. These measures focus on those responsible for the transfer (through a set of licensing criteria), transfer authorizations (including end-user certificates) and post-delivery restrictions (such as, for example, restrictions on re-export, delivery verification certificates and physical checks).
