I feel used – ‘Butterfly’ lead investigator

Sharon Mathala | Monday June 26, 2023 06:00

About four years ago, (October 17, 2019), Maswabi, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) agent, was dramatically arrested for allegedly financing terrorism, possession of unexplained property, and false declaration of a passport. Maswabi’s case was linked to then DIS Director-General (DG) Isaac Kgosi and former president, Ian Khama.

Now in this leaked report from the Office of the President, the lead investigator in the controversial P100 billion case, Jako Hubona, who has since been left in the cold, feels strongly that he was ‘used by the State’.

In the report dated June 2, 2023, Hubona wrote to President Masisi how the case came into being. He says when it all started he was summoned to the Office of the then Diretor-General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Brigadier, Joseph Mathambo around late August 2019.

He said he was then handed a document which he said contained allegations about theft of funds from Bank of Botswana by former president Khama allegedly in collusion with his blue-eyed boy, Kgosi. “The document contained details pertaining to the opening of special unit accounts at the Bank of Botswana which were alleged to have been used to siphon funds from Botswana to several bank accounts in foreign countries,” reads the report. Hubona said he was then instructed to prepare a detailed investigation action plan in respect to the allegations and to ensure strict confidentiality. “According to the DCEC procedures, once an allegation has been registered, classified by the panel, authorised by the DCEC in writing and depending on the magnitude of the case such as this one, which involved a task team, a letter of appointment is issued to the relevant officer as was my case and the allegation is now properly ready for investigation,” explained Hubona. He claimed that whilst the team was getting ready to start the investigations, they were shocked to see their then boss, Mathambo on national television discussing the contents of the action plan concerning the allegation of the missing funds.



“The conduct of DG Mathambo was, in my view, unprofessional, to say the least, as it was a premature exposure of a high-profile, highly confidential investigation that was yet to commence,” Hubona further said.

He said, in his view, it would seem Mathambo was sending a warning to potential suspects “to prepare themselves for an impending investigation”. “It was also contrary to the instruction that he gave me to treat the matter confidentially. It was also contrary to our institutional policy of ensuring confidentiality of investigation until outcomes of such investigations are ripe for confrontation of suspects and or prosecution,” Hubona further said. A week later, (September 12, 2019), a task team was formed. The team involved officials from Botswana Police Service (BPS), Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the DIS.

“Mathambo stated that the matter will be coordinated at the offices of the DIS as it was a high-profile case and a matter of national security. In addition, the offices of the DIS were ideal because the organisation had the necessary resources required to facilitate the prudent investigations of the matter,” he said.



Hubona said their first assignment was a trip to South Africa towards the end of September 2019. He said, whilst in South Africa (SA), the team met with several leads and had interviews.

They later went back to SA after receiving another tip off. During this trip, they also followed up with banks on the allegations that some accounts were used to disburse the $48 million.

When the team returned to Botswana, Hubona said they then met with the Bank of Botswana Governor. “The governor proposed that we seek the authority of President Masisi in order to access the investment managers and interview them on the possibilities of the funds being siphoned out of Botswana Investment Portfolios. The governor stated that he did not have the mandate to authorise such action. The DG of the DIS then requested to facilitate a meeting with the President,” Hubona detailed.

Hubona said at the time, the President was away in Maun on Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) campaigns. He said arrangements were then made for the team to travel to Maun on October 4, 2019. When they were about to travel, Hubona claims he was then instructed not to travel to Maun by the then DCEC DG. He said he, however, went ahead with the trip because he felt the President was superior to his DG. “The President had set aside an hour for me from his busy schedule and that was going to be problematic for me if I failed to honour the appointment. Going to Maun was, therefore, not optional and acceding to such was not an act of insubordination to undermine the authority of DG Mathambo, but the President’s order superseded that of DG Mathambo,” Hubona said.

‘Butterfly’s’ arrest

Hubona says during the course of their investigation, they discovered another person of interest, DIS agent Maswabi, who was a close ally and confidant of Kgosi. “The first point investigation pertaining to Maswabi was in respect of a passport that was alleged to have been acquired inappropriately. I was carrying out this inquiry in the company of three police officers. We interviewed and recorded statements from several witnesses most of whom were officers from the immigration department concerning how the said passport was obtained,” Hubona said.

Worriedly, Hubona indicated that ‘Butterfly’ was pre-maturely arrested. According to him, this instruction was issued at a meeting held on October 17, 2019. “During the course of the investigation, an instruction was issued by the office of the DPP, for the arrest of Maswabi. At the time, a charge sheet had been prepared at the DPP offices,” Hubona recalls. He said the DPP officials, (names known to this publication), asked the investigation team if they had uncovered any evidence to arrest Maswabi and “our response was in the negative”.

Hubona said they told the DPP officials that they needed more time to verify the contents of the allegations without raising any alarm.

“I wish to state at this juncture that the team was very apprehensive about the charge sheet as they were of the view that there was lack of substantial evidence to sustain a charge for purposes of prosecution. What was simply before us was purely allegations based on unverified intelligence that needed more time to further investigation,” he narrated.

Despite the advice from the investigators, the DPP, according to Hubona insisted that Maswabi be arrested. She was arrested on October 17, 2019 and was taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters for questioning and later taken to police cells.

In the end, Hubona said since the arrest he has been vilified here in Botswana. “I am damaged goods. I am doomed,” he noted.

He now seeks the intervention of the President. He said he wants Masisi to assist him in directing the DCEC to make a public rebuttal of all negative media reports about him from October 2019 to date. “That the DCEC explains to the public that I was, in fact, authorised to investigate the Maswabi case. That the DCEC categorically explains to the public that they and not me are the source of the intelligence on the Maswabi matter,” read part of the report written to Masisi in part.

Hubona also wants the President to launch an inquiry into what really happened with the ‘Butterfly’ case since it has died a natural death before the courts. “This case has destroyed me and I was never afforded an opportunity to present my case. Those responsible should be taken to task or exposed,” he demanded.

Hubona also wants the office of the DPP to explain to the nation that they are the ones who drafted the charge sheet for the case and not him.