Confidential documents and tapes passed to the Sunday Standard detail how the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) Director General Isaac Kgosi and his staff threatened, intimidated and spied on Directorate on Corruption and economic Crime (DCEC) officers who were investigating allegations of corruption against Kgosi.
A savingram written by DCEC Director General Rose Seretse and addressed to Isaac Kgosi, a copy of which has been passed to the Sunday Standard reveals how the DISS Director General threatened the DCEC assistant Director, Eugene Wasetso. The DCEC assistant Director was one of the officers investigating allegations of corruption against Kgosi.
“I am advised that on Thursday 8th March 2012 you threatened this Directorate’s Senior Assistant Director Mr Wasetso”, stated the letter from the DCEC director to Kgosi.
The letter further states, “known DISS officers have been observed conducting surveillance of DCEC headquarters. I am also advised by my staff that DISS officers have been seen shriveling DCEC staff performing duties away from DCEC headquarters in the course of this investigation.”
The DCEC Director informed Kgosi that, “this was always going to be a difficult investigation. This Directorate is attempting to conduct a thorough and objective investigation with a view to resolving the allegations in a proper manner. This cannot happen if my staff are to be subjected to threats, intimidation and ongoing surveillance.”You will recall that you had made an undertaking to cooperate and support the DCEC during this investigation. However the situation on the ground appears not to be so.”|
DCEC Director General Rose Seretse and her assistant Eugene Wasetso would not comment on the letter and its contents. The Sunday Standard has also raised tape recording detailing how a local businessman and a security expert with strong links to the DISS was commissioned by the spy agency for a “black operation” against the DCEC.
Confidential videotapes seen and studied by the Sunday Standard detail how the businessman (who cannot be named because of the DCEC interdict against this paper) was paid millions of Pula for a secret operation at the DCEC offices which was carried behind the back of the DCEC command.
It is believed that the businessman was engaged by the DIS to install surveillance equipment at the DCEC. During the interview with DCEC investigators, the businessman revealed how he was invited to do work for the DCEC but later turned out that the customer was DISS. The businessman would not disclose to investigators the nature of work he did at the DCEC, he however confirmed that while the work was done at the DCEC headquarters, his customer was DISS. Although he claimed that he initially thought he was doing work for the DCEC, he admitted that he was called by the DISS to submit quotations.
He disclosed that the first invoice for the work at DCEC offices was P4 million followed by another one for P3 million and in both cases the invoices were paid by DISS. Another invoice worth more than P1.8 million was also issued followed by another for more than P400 000.
The operation against DCEC was so clandestine that the businessman did not sign any contract document with DIS.
Sunday Standard investigations have also turned up information that during the entire period when DISS Director General Isaac Kgosi was being investigated by DCEC, the crime busters were not aware that the men providing security at the DCEC offices were DISS agents. The DISS agents were only removed from the DCEC offices recently, long after investigations against Kgosi had been concluded. This is in spite of the fact that the DCEC command was weary of possible infiltration by the DISS and had asked for support from the Botswana Police and the Military Intelligence. According to the DCEC “Action Plan” for the investigation against Kgosi which is marked “Secret and Confidential”, the Director of DCEC, Rose Seretse was “to speak to the BDF commander to formalise arrangements for the protection of DCEC staff involved in the investigation.
The DCEC Director also spoke to the Commissioner of Police to provide the DCEC with security. According to the action plan, the DCEC Director was also tasked with speaking to the Commissioner of Police, “as to precisely what support is being provided so that we are able to distinguish between friendly support and possibly not so friendly support.”
There was however a breech in security and DISS agents ended up manning the DCEC security without the knowledge of the DCEC leadership.┬á In the letter the DCEC director General wrote to Kgosi, she explained that, “due to the sensitivity of this investigation, involved officers have been concerned about their welfare in the performance of their duties. This concern has been exacerbated by the conduct of yourself and your staff.
Despite indications that the DISS Director General was disrupting investigations against him, President Khama has refused to interdict Kgosi, much against the spirit of the Public Service Act. Section 35 of the public Service Act states: “If the supervising officer becomes aware that criminal proceedings have been or are about to be instituted against an employee, or considers that disciplinary proceedings should be instituted against a public officer, and is of the opinion that such officer should be suspended from performance of his or her duties pending the taking of proceedings against him or her, the supervising officer shall report the matter to the permanent Secretary recommending the suspension of such employee.”
The DISS Director General reports directly to President Khama who is his supervising officer.
