‘I’m in love with the Spy Chief’

Thalefang Charles | Wednesday December 3, 2025 09:14

They open up about their love life, secret romantic date nights around Gaborone, and jewellery shopping sprees in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a 'ride-or-die' love affair that will this weekend be made public at traditional Pato and Magadi ceremonies in Moshupa.

Sometime in 2020, a Directorate on Intelligence Services (DIS) senior agent, Tshepo Tilia Thupa, received a message from Director General (DG) Peter Fana Magosi instructing her to meet at a certain location in Gaborone. Thupa thought it was a DIS operational matter, but she was suspicious.

“When he gave me the RV, I thought it was an ops assignment, and I was initially suspicious about it,” Thupa narrates of their first date, her talk laced with spy terms like ‘RV’ for rendezvous and ‘ops’ for operation.

That night, she says she drove to the meeting place armed and without headlights to avoid detection. She wanted to be the first to arrive to ‘clear’ the area. But whilst she tried to call to see if he had arrived, she was surprised to hear Magosi’s loud Grand Cherokee, also without headlights, parking next to her car. This is how their secret love affair began. By that time, Magosi says he already knew Thupa was not dating anyone. He reveals he knew much about the young agent and decided to make his move.

Six years later, Magosi ushers us inside their big house in Tlokweng and introduces her as ‘Nana’. He says some days she is ‘Buba,’ ‘Mogatsaka,’ or ‘Honey.’ ‘Nana’ is busy with another woman, sorting out the wedding guest list and seating arrangements. Magosi leaves us with her, promising to join the interview later.

One-on-one, Thupa openly shares her story, from her humble upbringing in Moshupa to dating a spy chief. She says she has always loved the armed forces and guns. Her love for the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) television series inspired her to study for a BA in Criminology and Psychology at UNISA. She began her career in the Botswana Police Service as an Officer Cadet in 2007, having just missed out on the first women recruits of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), something she deeply wanted.

Thupa says that whilst she joined the police, she initially did not like it and even attempted to quit at one point. She hated drill but loved shooting exercises. She was posted to Francistown’s Kutlwano Police Station, but before long, Thupa was brought back to Otse Police College and became the youngest instructor.

“I was tasked to compile a Criminology module for police recruits. There were a few officers who had studied Criminology at the Police College back then, and my seniors perhaps saw something bigger in me,” she says.

Thupa was then recruited into the Police Crime Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), where she underwent extensive intelligence training. “I specialised in counter-terrorism whilst at CRIB and travelled around the world for training.”

From CRIB, Thupa was one of many agents recruited into the DIS ahead of the 50-year independence anniversary. She says the recruitment was problematic due to a lack of proper consultation between DIS and the police. “It was before Bots50, and DIS poached some good police officers and sent them for training. I was excited to join without considering what it meant for our careers. We were trained in shooting and VIP protection for Bots50,” she says.

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But as it turned out, world leaders snubbed the Bots50 celebrations as only three heads of state honoured the invitation, instead of the 20 expected. Thupa and many newly trained VIP protection agents were not needed on the day. Even after Bots50, they were kept at home, without deployment. She was one of the last officers deployed in 2018, just before former DG Isaac Kgosi was fired and replaced by Magosi.

Thupa started working closely with ‘PF,’ as she calls Magosi in his absence, in late 2019. She was working on an operation and reporting directly to him. That is, whilst the spy chief began to romantically eye this young spy, who is 17 years his junior.

The love affair started in secret. “We went for four years without anyone, even from work, knowing about us,” she claims.

In 2023, they travelled together to the ISS World Europe conference in Prague, Czech Republic. She returned with a diamond engagement ring.

“I remember it was raining in Prague. We were in the room, and he had bought many red roses. He gave me a long talk about his life's trials and tribulations, how he survived professional and personal challenges, including two failed marriages. Finally, he asked me to marry him and gave me the ring. He said to me, ‘This is my last lap of life',' she says.

Magosi returns just in time for the question of whether he is the romantic type. His version of the Prague romance is that they bought the ring together, but she thought it was just jewellery. After his long life talk, he revealed it was an engagement ring, and she approved with a warm kiss.

The spy chief sounds like a man hopelessly in love. “I found my match. And I felt it. I saw a homemaker in her. I saw a mother. I used to be very unhappy. She is my duplicate. We think alike. I found love. And I am so happy.”

“We are both spies, we both carry guns, and whatever happens, I know she will fight on my team.”

Magosi reveals he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023 and that Thupa was there throughout the medical process. “I knew then that she was my godsent protector. I could have really enjoyed my life if I had met her earlier, but they say God’s timing is the best,” he says.

A few days before the 2024 elections, Magosi said he met with then-Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) presidential candidate Duma Boko and briefed him, amongst other things, that he was engaged to marry one of his officers. He was prepared to leave if the new President wanted him out.

The spy chief says their office romance does not hinder their work because they are “disciplined”. Thupa vows she is ready for whatever comes with Magosi. “I love him. I told him, whatever happens, I will always love him. Anything that comes with him, I’m ready for it,” she vows.

And from this weekend, their relationship will no longer be a secret affair, but that of husband and wife. Their wedding invitation card shows romantic images of the couple happily together at home and at the moraka. Magosi says his colleagues, spies worldwide, want to attend, so attendance is strictly by invitation.