In 2001, the President of the United States of America as he was then, addressed a joint session of Congress and said ‘…..Either you are with us, or against us’. This was at the height of some of the deadliest terrorist attacks on the US and world-wide. In political speak, this phrase is used to indicate that those deemed not to be toeing the line of the establishment are enemies of the said establishment and must be dealt with ruthlessly or otherwise. In the recent past, we have witnessed the arrests and detention of prominent individuals including the Member of Parliament Hon Tshekedi Khama, the Commissioner of Police Rre Keabetswe Makgophe and a Deputy Permanent Secretary Rre Victor Paledi. Following the raiding and sealing of the office of the Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Rre Tymon Katlholo, it is almost certain that the appointing authority H.E the President has all but lost confidence in him. The Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) could not have taken such a drastic measure with possible far-reaching implications on Rre Katlholo given his position and in his absence. It is too good to believe the President would not have been appraised of this drastic measure without him endorsing it.
It has not officially been stated what kind of operational investigation has led to the raiding and sealing of Rre Katlholo’s office. As a consequence, a lot of conspiracy theories have come thick and fast with some compelling and some not so. One of these which I find hard to ignore is that Rre Katlholo is investigating the President together with the Director General of DIS Rre Peter Magosi. As a matter of course, such investigations will have deleterious political consequences for the President and administrative ones for Rre Magosi. The President has portrayed himself as a fighter of corruption and malfeasance. Should it be correct that he is under an investigation of any sorts by the DCEC, it will confirm my earlier view that the Office of the President is a factory of corruption and malfeasance. I had based my view amongst others that corruption and malfeasance occurred under the watch of the same office as evidenced by the Auditor General report on the Covid-19 Relief Fund. Not only that. It will confirm the view from some members of the public that the President is not a fit and proper person to be championing the fight of corruption and malfeasance when he himself is accused of the same. Further to this, it will cause him to lose political currency in the eyes of the public which could be bad news for his second and last term. For the DG of DCEC, it will also confirm the same view that he is not a fit and proper to be holding that position. It should be mentioned that when he was appointed to the position, Rre Katlholo made it abundantly clear that he will if need be, investigate each and every one regardless of their status and position in society without fear, favour or prejudice. It will come as no surprise if he investigated the mighty and the powerful and hence the fallout that seems to be emerging.
I want to believe the office of Rre Katlholo has investigated numerous corruption and malfeasance cases and continues to do so as per its powers and authority as provided for in the DCEC Act. And to the best of my recollection, his offices have not been raided and sealed since he was appointed. But this is not the first time the DCEC has been threatened by the DIS in one way or the other. The unfolding events at the DCEC tie themselves to the saying that history is repeating itself in more ways than one. In 2015, it was widely reported in the media that a memorandum to the then DIS DG Rre Isaac Kgosi from the DCEC DG Mme Rose Seretse as she was then, was intercepted by the same media and published for our consumption. (See Mmegi online edition dated August 4, 2017 under the heading DCEC élite’ unit disbanded). This after Rre Kgosi and the then Minister of the then Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services Rre Prince Maele were allegedly investigated by the DCEC for corruption and bribery respectively. Mme Seretse is reported to have written in the said memorandum or savingram that ‘I am advised that on Thursday 8th March 2012, you threatened this Directorate’s Senior Assistant Director [name withheld]….known DIS officers have been observed conducting surveillance of DCEC headquarters. I am also advised by my staff that DIS officers have been shrivelling DCEC staff performing duties away from the DCEC headquarters in the course of this 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’. Flowing from the foregoing, the situation and circumstances of Rre Katlholo could very well resonate with those of Mme Seretse.
Rre Katlholo sleeps and breathes key values of the Rule of Law underpinned by good governance, accountability and transparency without flinching. I have personally heard him on several occasions talking all matters to do with dealing with corruption by complying with these values. Predictably, his style of applying these values would bring him on a collision course with the powers that be for one reason or the other. It will be recalled that he stood his ground when the President tried to redeploy some of his staff sometimes last year or so where he strongly and justifiably argued in my view, that such were counterproductive in the sense that they would render his office ineffective. The contemplated redeployment attempts were largely unsuccessful. It is unheard of for any public officer to defy an instruction from the powers that be not least the President. By opposing the redeployments, the President would not be expected to leave it lying down as he would deem this gross insubordination of the highest order.
The woes currently facing Rre Katlholo could be attributed to the way he appears not prepared to bend on the application of the Rule of Law as a matter of principle to which I dare say, he will be more than willing and prepared not to comprise. That said, I have repeatedly criticised him for accepting the appointment when the office of the DCEC Director General is not protected by tenure of office and more importantly, that he was aware of just how his predecessors were dismissed at the stroke of the pen. If he was protected by tenure of office, he would not be subjected to the sole decision of the President to fire or vary his terms of employment without a proper tribunal process as it obtains in similar positions protected by tenure of office.
When all is said and done, it is reasonable to suggest as I hereby do so, that the writing is almost on the wall for Rre Katlholo. His fate like his predecessors and possibly his successors should the status quo remain, is well and truly in the hands of the President who is the appointing and the firing authority. Rre Katlholo’s circumstances resemble those that obtained for Mme Rose Seretse shortly before she was shipped to the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority. With the high turnover of Directors General at the DCEC, it is almost a given that this institution is far from achieving a semblance of operational and management stability and therefore, a semblance to decisively and meaningfully deal with runaway corruption and economic crime. The biggest losers for the inability to deal with corruption and economic crime is a Motswana particularly the one who is downtrodden. As I was completing this opinion piece, I came across a piece of news that Rre Katlholo was being interrogated by the DIS. It certainly did not come as a surprise considering how high profile individuals have of late been in that space. I will be waiting patiently to see how his story pans out. I am prepared to be persuaded otherwise as always. Judge for Yourself!
‘No one is safe until everyone is safe’. Let us continue without fail to adhere to all Covid-19 health protocols. It is our civic duty to do so for ourselves and the next person. [email protected]
