DCEC recovers P144m as high profile cases mount
Sharon Mathala | Monday September 1, 2025 06:00
DCEC Director General, Botlhale Makgekgenene, told a press conference this week that the properties and monies traced in 2024 and referred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for recovery amounted to P144,240,085.52 (approx P144m).
This is a big increase when compared to the P1,088,474.49 (approx P1m) recovered in the previous year.
“Traditional forms of bribery and corruption have become increasingly difficult to trace. The accumulation of unaccounted wealth or living beyond one's known sources of income has emerged as a glaring indicator of potential illicit activity,” the DG said.
“The stark disparity between visible wealth and declared earnings has become one of the clearest signs of hidden corruption.”
The DCEC has, in recent years, moved away from focusing purely on acts of bribery and influence peddling to examining the financial networks that sustain them.
Lifestyle audits have allowed investigators to target individuals living well beyond their declared income.
As such, the Directorate now pursues “parallel investigations” that combine corruption probes with financial crime analysis, such as money laundering, enabling asset tracing and disruption of complex networks.
Despite the celebratory tone of the DG following the recovery of the P144 million, the announcement has also raised fresh questions about how much illicit wealth may have gone undetected in past years.
The high figure compared to previous recoveries may suggest either a surge in corruption or that the Directorate is only now catching up to entrenched practices.
As the DCEC celebrates the recovery of millions of pula lost by government, Batswana have repeatedly urged the agency to ensure that high-profile investigations lead to actual prosecutions.
The citizenry have called for convictions, arguing that asset recovery alone was not enough to deter corruption.
“How many of those investigations lead to actual convictions?” one commentator quizzed.
For Batswana and as admitted by Makgekgenene, the recovered millions are a painful reminder of how corruption is denying government the chance to spend resources on promised basic needs.
If it was not for craft, the stolen monies could have been directed towards financing the now collapsing health system, critical infrastructure and social programmes that remain under strain.
Rather, the money was trapped in personal enrichment of the powerful and well connected.
The recovery of P144 million by the DCEC proves the State can claw back ill-gotten gains when institutions are empowered to carry their mandates, but also highlights the depth of corruption in the country.
Makgekgenene insists that the agency is strengthening its approach and has shown it can adapt to new corruption trends. The DG also confirmed that the Directorate is reviewing the Corruption and Economic Crime Act of 1994, which it plans to repeal and replace with stronger legislation.
“The key objectives of this exercise are to strengthen our legislative framework to adequately address the evolving and complex nature of modern-day corruption,” she said.
The Bill is expected before Parliament in the November sitting.
The DCEC DG noted that the current Act has long been seen as outdated, leaving gaps in the fight against financial crimes and asset recovery, but with the law under review, high-risk sectors are under the microscope.
She also said the Directorate’s next challenge will be to convert numbers into convictions and reclaim public confidence.
On other matters, the DG disclosed that in 2024, the DCEC received 687 reports on alleged corruption and economic crime.
Of these, 238 cases were classified for investigation, representing 34% of all reports. The rest were either referred to other institutions or dismissed as outside the agency’s mandate.
However, already in 2025, by late August, the Directorate had registered 612 reports, pointing to what could be another record year.
Amongst its current caseload are 54 high-profile investigations, nine of which involve politicians from both the previous regime and the current administration.
These cases, Makgekgenene said, have seen progress through searches, interviews and other legal means of evidence collection.
Looking ahead, the DCEC’s 2025-26 plan identifies procurement, land, and transport licensing as priority areas. The three sectors have historically been dogged by corruption allegations and will now be subject to heightened scrutiny.
The DG’s announcement comes as the DCEC marked 30 years in operation in 2024, a milestone that has prompted reflection on its successes and shortcomings.
Established in 1994, the Directorate has often been seen as a watchdog with limited bite, hampered by legal and institutional constraints.