DIS detains judicial workers
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday September 13, 2022 06:00
It is alleged that amongst those who were detained by the DIS were Chief Registrar of High Court, Chief Justice (CJ) Terence Rannowane's secretaries, and some employees from Office of the President in relation to leaking confidential information.
According to an insider, the seniors were whisked out quietly out of their respective offices with their cellphones confiscated. "The Chief Registrar and CJ's secretaries were all taken and detained for a short period by the DIS.
The move was done so quietly without any suspicion from other workers and could be due to what has been happening in our judicial corridors,” the insider said. The seniors reportedly spent the night at the spy unit offices and were released the following day. With recent events at the judicial helm the questioning was allegedly in relation to the leaking of confidential information.
Recently, Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe of the High Court wrote a letter to President Mokgweetsi Masisi accusing his senior, the CJ, of interference. Ketlogetswe reported to the President that the CJ tried to influence him to rule against Member of Parliament for Lobatse, Thapelo Matsheka and detain him further.
The letters were subsequently leaked to the media and made public though they were reportedly done confidentially. The judicial seniors could have been viewed as the main culprits behind the leak given the authorised take in and questioning. On Friday The Monitor, in an effort to get to the bottom of the alleged detainment, contacted DIS communications officer, Edward Robert for comment and in his response he said he was not yet aware of the issue.
He said if it truly happened he was not yet briefed on the matter and asked for time to enquire. "I am not aware about what you just asked me. I have not been briefed and I will need time to enquire and get back to you, it might take time but just know I will try to help with the information I get," he said.
Following another attempt yesterday (Sunday) for official comment, Robert said his office is not in a position to give a comment on the matter. "This is because those are issues that border on operational matters,” he said in a short response.
Meanwhile, efforts to talk to any of the seniors that were detained failed as they were not available while the CJ was said to be out of the country on official duty in Egypt.