Inside Katlholo’s alleged defamation
Mpho Mokwape | Monday May 8, 2023 06:00
He explained that he has enjoyed a distinguished and unblemished career in public service and abroad to date. That the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director General Peter Magosi, the DCEC lead investigator Jet Mafuta, and DCEC acting DG Tshepo Pilane published the defamatory statements without attempting to establish the truth, accuracy, or correctness of the allegations made and that they were in reckless disregard of the truth.
“Suspending the facts once they became known and by adopting a taunting attitude and by improperly attempting to exploit incidents by clothing them under the guise and imputation of investigation of national security threats,” he said.
Katlholo also emphasised that as a result of the publication of the defamatory statements, he has been injured in his reputation and good name and has suffered damages. Below are extracts from the alleged defamatory statements.
Edward Roberts – DIS spokesperson (May 3, 2022)
“Our investigations into possible violation of National Security Laws keep on widening and we are following leads as they emerge. This is something we had anticipated when we started the investigation and our investigation team will be as professional as is required of them throughout the whole process.
This afternoon the investigations led to the office of the Director General of the DCEC whereupon it was deemed necessary to seal off the office, together with the office of the Director General Staff Officer, just those two offices, other offices are running unhindered. This is meant to facilitate the investigation.”
Jet Mafuta – DCEC lead investigator (May 11, 2022)
“During the course of interviews it was revealed that information relating to Seleka Springs was in the custody of the applicant and Tsholofelo Bareetsi who is his staff officer, the same applies to information relating to the investigation of firearms seized from Isaac Kgosi in 2019. It was also revealed that the applicant was not acting on any of these files and had not assigned any of his officers to action the said files. It was further revealed that the applicant was actually restricting the release of information to the DIS investigators.”
“On the basis of these revelations, I came to the reasonable suspicion that the applicant was deliberately stalling and obstructing investigations by the DIS into Seleka Springs and Isaac Kgosi. It was for this reason that I took a decision that given that the applicant was at that particular time outside the country, it is imperative that his office and that of his staff officer be sealed pending their return so as to protect the integrity of the evidence in their custody... “I had been informed by Erica Ndlovu the then Acting Director General that the applicant would be in the office on May 9, 2022. The only information that the investigations are interested in is information related to Seleka Springs and Isaac Kgosi, none of which are being investigated by the DCEC. Myself together with the other officers of the investigation team sealed the office of Director General and Mr Tsholofelo Bareetsi on May 3, 2022, in the presence of Mr Edwin Batsalelwang in his capacity as the Senior Assistant Director Legal Services, Erica Ndlovu, acting Director General, substantive Deputy Director General Policy Priscillah Israel, and the Deputy Director General Operations and others of the DCEC who recorded the entire process undertaken during the sealing of the two offices. I wish to state further that Acting Director General Ndlovu authorised the investigation team to proceed in that manner.”
In conclusion to his demands on the lawsuit, Katlholo said it should be noted that when the spy unit spokesperson Robert made press statements, Magosi and Mafuta were fully aware that the utterances attributed to him of being a national security threat were false, baseless, and could not have been founded out of any facts related to Seleka Springs, Isaac Kgosi firearms case, or the procurement of the encryption software from Seleka Springs or Crypto AG. That the statements were published to mean or were intended by Magosi and Robert and were indeed understood by the listeners or general public and DCEC staff to mean that: “He is a disgraceful person and undeserving of employment in any responsible position as he engages in criminal acts or acts that threaten national security and the interest of Botswana, that he does not respect and abide by professional ethics, that he was not morally upright and or was guilty of an unlawful act. "That he was guilty of disreputable conduct, he lacks integrity and that he was guilty of disgraceful and reprehensible conduct."