My mother called me on hit-list � Kgosi
Bame Piet | Friday May 23, 2014 13:22
“I got a call from my mother who wanted to know if I was now killing people and I told her that I was not yet employed at the Prisons as a hangman,” testified the Director General of Intelligence and Security before the Committee questioning him on whether a hit-list indeed existed.
The ‘hit-list’ came into prominence late last month at a political rally in Gabane where the president of opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Duma Boko alleged that there was a plot to assassinate him and other politicians opposing President Ian Khama.
Kgosi expressed disappointment that politicians make serious allegations against his organisation at political rallies, but they (the Directorate of Intelligence and Security) cannot use the same platforms to respond to such.
He accused politicians of getting over excited with the coming elections and using wrong tactics to lure voters. Kgosi said he “would be the first to resign” should any politician die in a suspected assassination.
Furthermore, he said that he is in charge of the organisation and knows each and every operation they are engaged in.
“It is embarrassing that bagolo are saying this about us,” he said.
It seems Kgosi is a man with other matters on his mind. At the PAC hearing, he stated that Batswana have lost their values as seen by the mushrooming of drugs on the streets.
“We have lost our values. An elder can no longer tell a youngster to behave properly. You can’t tell a young man with hanging pants to wear them properly,” he said.
Kgosi said drugs are everywhere, and Batswana play a major role in bringing them into the country by road and air.
“They are everywhere. If I can take you to the bus rank right now and we cordon a specific area, you will be shocked at what we will discover. We can only win this battle if Batswana change their mindsets and attitudes,” he said.
He said security agents identify and arrest suspected drug pushers, but the courts immediately grant them bail.
“The same suspects go back into society and bring drugs into the country,” he said. In other instances, drug users mix Anti-Retroviral Drugs with dagga to satisfy their appetites.
Although the committee expressed satisfaction that the DIS utilised 99.9 percent of its P217.4 million budget, members said many questions remained unanswered as the organisation’s operations were conducted in secret, leaving the PAC clueless.
During the year, the organisation made a supplementary request of P14.6 million, which it did not spend.
Meanwhile, the committee expressed disappointment at the manner in which potential investors are being chased out due to non-issuance or non-renewal of work permits on security grounds.
Kgosi said he would not compromise the country’s security, adding that there are some expatriates who have been doing business in the country for more than a decade but ripping the nation off.
“This country has for a very long time been taken for a ride because things were not done properly. It is only that we are now exposing these things,” the DIS director said.
The explanation was however not enough, as a committee member stated that Kgosi behaved as if he was the only person passionate about Botswana.
The committee, chaired by Member of Parliament for Lobatse, Nehemiah Modubule, consists of Prince Maele, Kagiso Molathegi, Gilson Saleshando, Kentse Rammidi, Moiseraele Goya, Samson Moyo Guma, and Phillip Makgalemele.