DIS pulls cloak-and-dagger manoeuvre
Innocent Selatlhwa | Friday June 15, 2018 18:00
It has since emerged that the vacancy might not be real and that it could be a ruse to convince the rest of the nation that the agency is making good on its claim to move with the times.
While this remains to be seen, it appears the new Director General of DIS, Peter Magosi might be playing stunts since the spy agency has had a public relations unit since mid-2016.
In fact, a seasoned career diplomat and former Botswana high commissioner to Nigeria, Clifford Maribe holds the position of director of communications.
In that unit, there is also a former director of Protocol and Public Affairs at the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Lieutenant Colonel Fikani Machola, recent recruit.
Sources said public relations experts man the desk at the agency therefore Maribe’s appointment just like Machola’s were never made public. Maribe is currently in a year-long training course at BDF Staff College in Glen Valley. He is also a director of the proposed Counter Terror Analysis Centre.
Contacted for a comment, a personal assistant to Magosi said it was not true that they had already hired.
“The reason we advertised the post is because there is a vacancy. If there are any officers that you know of, it does not mean we are not hiring for the post we advertised for,” he said.
At his maiden DIS press conference, Magosi told journalists that they would advertise the post, which has never existed in the DIS before.