Information never disclosed before has come out over the weekend suggesting the suspended Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Rre Tymon Katlholo was on the verge of taking the Director General of Intelligence and Security Services (DIS) Rre Peter Magosi to court on corruption/bribery allegations when he was spectacularly and dramatically suspended about six months ago. It will be recalled how frantic Magosi sought to take custody of the investigation files in Katlholo’s custody by sealing the latter’s offices when the latter was away on official duty outside the country. It will also be recalled how the DCEC and DIS ended up in court primarily over Magosi’s frantic effort to seize the said files. The official reason given by the Office of the President for the said spectacular and dramatic suspension was that Katlholo had conducted himself in an unbecoming manner which was deemed to be inconsistent with the ethos of the public service. But lo and behold, the disciplinary action against him appears dead in the water.
In an explosive document prepared by DCEC officers in the ranks of the Senior Assistant Director Andria German, the Principal Anti-Corruption Officers Tsholofelo Bareetsi and Sethunya Rathedi-Motswetla respectively titled ‘Prosecution Docket Summary’ dated 3rd May 2022, Peter Fana Magosi is the accused person charged with ‘Abuse of Office contrary to Section 104 of the Penal Code (as amended by Penal Code Amendment Act No. 21 of 2018)’. This following the conviction by the investigations by the DCEC officers that Magosi probably with some of his officers ventured into the tenders as outlined in the explosive document on account that some of the tendering companies were corrupt and therefore a threat to national security. As it has become the norm, national security is Magosi’s trump card to conceal his unbecoming behaviour or conduct. It is evident in the document that corruption and the threat to national security are not explicitly stated. It is therefore fair and reasonable to conclude these two issues (corruption and a threat to national security) were a scapegoat to deny ‘deserving’ companies for nefarious reasons the opportunity to carry out the tenders thereby replacing them with those preferred by Magosi.
It starts off with Magosi dispatching two savingrams in quick succession to the Minister of the then Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Michael Mzwinila ‘….to the effect that the DIS was investigating possible acts of corruption on the award of tender to CJI and further that they will need the cooperation of the Minister’. Reading through the purpose of the savingrams, Magosi was trying to exert pressure on the Minister and by extension on his senior officers to circumvent the said tender in more ways than one. While senior officers of the ministry concluded Magosi’s correspondence was nothing more than information sharing requiring no further action, it would appear the Minister thought otherwise. The result is that the company that was deemed by Magosi to be corrupt and a threat to national security did not leave the matter lying down as it ultimately sought and received monetary compensation in the sum of P 112 million. Without saying it, this was wasteful and fruitless expenditure which was completely avoidable given the revelations of various witnesses with inside knowledge as articulated in the explosive document prepared by DCEC senior officers.
In conclusion, the document holds that ‘It is evident that Peter Fana Magosi abused his office by: Unilaterally taking a decision to declare CJI…a threat to national security without following the process laid down by the very Act he sought to enforce….The accused person knew at all material times that there was no threat assessment done in relation to the company nor its personnel. That even if there was any such assessment, it was geared towards using the CJI or its personnel for purposes of unduly incriminating individuals within government. The accused was in essence perpetuating a crime punishable by law and utilising the very law he is called upon to enforce’. On the basis of the in depth investigations and findings of the DCEC as articulated in the explosive document, it is reasonable to conclude Magosi has a case to answer on the charge of abuse of office. What is without doubt is that he will not be held to account.
There is a plausible argument to be made that the resignation of the former Permanent Secretary in Minister Mzwinila’s ministry around July this year Bonolo Khumotaka could have been partly or wholly consequent to the administrative meddling of Magosi in the operational functions of the ministry through his correspondences. I vividly remember her saying immediately after her resignation that she was not prepared to be mired in corruption. At the time Magosi was ferociously putting pressure on the Minister through his frequent correspondence, it goes without saying the same would have been exerted on Khumotaka hence her abrupt resignation. In fact, she was quoted at the time by various media outlets to have said ‘I really cannot divulge more information about my resignation, but just know that I am a principled person with integrity and I will go down that way rather than being drawn into corrupt issues’. This is a loaded statement!
If Katlholo was still in the office, it is highly possible Magosi would have appeared in court to answer to the charge of abuse of office on the strength of the detailed evidence in the explosive ‘Prosecution Docket Summary’. His indefinite suspension and disciplinary proceedings were calculated to delay if not completely kill off Magosi ever appearing in court. Now that an acting Director General of DCEC has been appointed, it goes without saying Magosi’s docket may after all, never see the light of day. This because the Office of the President (OP) calls the shots at the DCEC and the DIS which in and of itself, will not allow Magosi to be exposed for what he is in terms of abusing his office. The OP has demonstrated over time that it will always come to Magosi’s rescue as and when the need arises. It did not sanction him when ‘out of the blue’ and for no good cause, he sealed Tymon’s office in pursuit of files implicating him; when he disobeyed the court order which order directed the said files be deposited in the High Court Registrar’s office where the police, DCEC, DIS and Attorney General representatives would be in attendance to ensure such files are so deposited. This order was frustrated all the step of the way. The Attorney General amongst others, did not intervene to remedy the situation, There are reports to the effect that on the eve of the Court of Appeal judgement on the DIS v Seretse Khama search and seize case, the DIS is reported to have continued the unlawful activity.
On the basis of the above, it is my considered view that the supervising authority of Magosi is and will continue to speak with forked tongue in terms of the Rule of Law and accountability. If the President means what he says, Magosi would have long walked given the immense damage in terms of reputational harm and the massive financial loss government suffers as a result of his ineptitude. The President’s demeanour towards Magosi leaves much to be desired the result of which will be the continued reputational harm to Botswana here and elsewhere and the massive financial losses government continues to fork out. And what’s more, a large number of the Botswana Democratic Party MPs are terrified to talk about Magosi’s mismanagement of the DIS lest they put themselves in the firing line. In the circumstances, the ‘Prosecution Docket Summary’ has become a document worth discarding while Magosi is still at the helm. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!
