The Commander of Botswana Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire, has rubbished allegations that BDF officers are heavy handed when assisting police in security patrols around the country.
Masire said BDF officers have a responsibility to guarantee stability and security, adding that they carry lots of assistance duties throughout the country, among them anti-poaching, border patrols and night patrols, for which many Batswana are grateful.
Masire was responding to concerns raised by the media that army officers are often violent and aggressive when dealing with members of the public, and that they often overshadow and sideline the police when, in fact, they are supposed to be providing the police with assistance.
“Before our officers are deployed for security patrols, they are briefed and given strict instructions to leave everything to the police and only come in to provide assistance. They know that they should not initiate arrest because they are not empowered by the law to do so,” said Masire.
One of the media personnel who was present at the briefing told Masire of how he was arrested and detained by army personnel, who wanted to confiscate his camera after he took photographs of BDF officers slapping a group of young men around.
Members of the public have also complained about the heavy-handed and aggressive nature of the army officers when dealing with civilians, some of them adding that Batswana are not used to having automatic machine guns brandished in their faces.
In response, Masire warned civilians to always follow orders as soldiers do not condone defiance.
“The public must also follow orders as they might find themselves in nasty situations. Unlike the police, BDF officers do not condone defiance. I have personally seen circumstances in which the public defied the police and immediately became obedient when the army intervened,” he said.
He said the public has to be grateful for the sterling job performed by the BDF officers as they are the umbrella that ensures security and maintain the rule of law.
“If we were to remove our troops from night patrols this very minute, thieves and criminals will have a field day. We will be abdicating our responsibilities if we do not maintain law and order,” he said.
However, Sunday Standard is informed that even police officers who patrol with BDF officers have in the past complained about their abrasive demeanour. When testifying on behalf of the state in the John Kalafatis murder trial, police officers broke ranks with their counterparts from the BDF.
One of the officers, Sub-Inspector Ketsweletse Ranka, differed with the defence contention that Kalafatis was a dangerous criminal, saying he did not know him to be such. Another officer, Detective Tirelo Rakgetse, said the police, and not the BDF, effect arrest when in joint operations with BDF officers.
“The police have to be there to arrest a suspect. I don’t know if any police officer was present when Kalafatis was shot. No one said we were going to arrest a dangerous criminal,” said Rakgetse at the time.
When passing judgement on the Kalafatis case, Lobatse High Court Judge David Newman said society expects security officers to display the highest standards of discipline and decorum in the performance of their duties, adding that the BDF officers’ behaviour on that day has the potential to erode public confidence in Botswana’s security system.
