According to records from the Police Public Relations Unit, Batshu was born in 1947.

Batshu confirmed to Mmegi this week that he is due for retirement next year, however, he said he has not filed his retirement yet. The Commissioner, who was previously the deputy Commissioner for Operations, took over from Norman Moleboge in 2004 and became the third Motswana to head the Botswana Police Service.

But what will his legacy in the police service be?

A mid ranking police officer, who preferred anonymity, said it would be unfair to evaluate Batshu since he served for only a short time.

He said Batshu might have been implementing projects that he found in the pipeline. He added that the police chief could only be credited with introducing the special constables, but the officer added that he did not think these constables had made a difference in the fight against crime.

He said even members of the public have mixed feelings about the introduction of the special constables.

He added that while some people feel the special constables are welcome, others feel they are half-baked.

The officer noted that since Batshu has been in the field for a long time, he was quite familiar with police operations and unlike his predecessor, he interacted with them and knew some of them personally.

One of the issues that Batshu has been grappling with is that of improving the salaries of police officers, especially those in the bottom bracket.

Batshu is believed to have been negotiating with the government to improve their salaries.

Another matter that he has to tackle is that of bridging the gap between the salaries of assistant commissioners and senior superintendents.

Unlike in other civil service cadres, there is no D2 and D3 bands in the police service.

Assistant commissioners are perked at D1 band while senior superintendents who fall below them in rank, are graded at D4.

There is a feeling that the senior superintendents are underpaid when considering their immense responsibilities as commanding officers, who oversee vast districts.

Civil servants in other departments like District Commissioners who hold similar responsibilities at district level, are paid at a higher scale.

But last year, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Phandu Skelemani told Parliament that it was not an anomaly that there are no D2 and D3 bands in the police service.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Kenny Kapinga is the man likely to succeed Batshu. While the other Deputy Commissioner, Thebeyame Tsimako is more senior to Kapinga; age is not on his side as he is also on the brink of retirement.

pinga, who joined the police service as a constable, does not only count age on his side, but he is also well educated, having been trained as a lawyer and is credited with establishing the police prosecutions unit.

He has served under various capacities and at some stage he was the director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He also boasts of international experience, having served as the head of Interpol in Harare.

He was recalled last year and appointed to his current position. Like Batshu, Kapinga also maintains an open policy with junior officers.