The Police Service cannot act like a faction of a ruling party

Owen Nsala | Wednesday June 28, 2017 17:49

Theirs is to protect the rule of law and make sure that those who are not law abiding citizens are brought to book and further keep the security of the republic intact.

All the above named institutions should owe their allegiance to the Constitution of Botswana and to no one else in particular. They must not seek to use their offices for personal gain or to fight personal vendettas or settle political scores.

They must not be used as pawns  in political circles or be seen as if they are taking any political sides. They must not be seen as either sponsoring a regime change or seeking to maintain the status quo political wise. They must tread as far as possible from being a game changer in the political discourse of a country. At the time of writing this column I am reminded of the Francistown West bye election sometime in 2014.

It was reported then that scores of people had signed a petition calling for the stopping of the Francistown West bye election. Chief amongst the concerns then was that Honourable Moswaane who would go on to win the General elections in October would not be a participant in the bye election. Investigations done privately demonstrated a canning act of fraud by those that lead the petition. It was found that the alleged petition was bogus to the extent that some of the signatories were dead and therefore it was impossible for them to have acceded to the petition or signed the petition from their graves.

The case was subsequently reported to the Botswana Police to make investigations therein and bring the culprits to book. It appeared to be a very simple exercise given to the Police in light of the damning evidence that was before the Botswana Police. We all thought finding those that sponsored the fraud would be an easy task.  As we speak, those that sponsored the fraudulent petition have not been brought to book and I assume no one will ever answer to the charges.

It is unbelievable that such an offence could not locate a wrong person. It is unbelievable that our police are unable to investigate a case that on the face of it appeared to be an open and shut case. First and foremost those that spearheaded the campaign had an idea as to who the signatories to the petition were.

Should we be bulldozed into believing that this was an act of sophisticated crime which the Botswana Police had no capacity to investigate? If the Botswana Police cannot investigate such a poorly orchestrated act of crime and lunacy are they competent to investigate high skilled, planned, sophisticated and organized crime?

Rhetorical as the questions seem I conclude by saying the Botswana Police just never wanted to investigate the crime.  We have seen the Botswana Police go on man hunts for more sophisticated crimes and spending a lot of money to bring perpetrators to book. What would have been so difficult about the Francistown West Bye election petition that would have made it difficult for the Police to investigate? The only answer can be that the Botswana Police chose to not honour their Constitutional mandate.

They chose not to bring to book those that sought to circumvent a democratic process to which this republic was built on. Various commentators have argued that it was a political decision to not seek to prosecute the perpetrators. If that analogy is to hold then the Botswana Police service and its agents would have derailed from their oath and allegiance.

They must not be seen as political tools and artillery. Many a times it has occurred that when the public wants to get on a march to enforce a wrong by Government or to push through a petition against government, the Police have been quick to deny Batswana that opportunity. Our courts have had to intervene to call the Botswana police to order and allow people to enjoy the Constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of association.

In the Kewagamang versus Attorney General and The Commissioner of Police the Judge lambasted the conduct by the Police to deny petitioners a right to march. The integrity of the Botswana Police Service was put to test in the Kewagamang case and it was evident that the denial of the permit to the public was not based on capacity but was meant to serve different interests.

The Botswana Police Service must try by all means to be an apolitical institution that seeks to uphold the rule of law and protect the people. It must not come across as a faction of a ruling party, or what COSATU is to the African National Congress. It is a Policing service.

It must keep its honour and integrity intact. We cannot have a situation where the Police Force will have to be disbanded in the event government changes hands. That may breed anarchy  and bring the country to its knees.