BNF wants DIS disbanded

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Tuesday October 12, 2010 00:00

The youth are demanding that the spy agency be disbanded. They failed to present a petition to the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security because the officials turned them down. The BNF was only granted a permit by the police to stage the march, which ended with a political rally at Nkurumah Freedom Square in Gaborone West. 

Addressing the rally, the president of the youth league, Kagiso Ntime said when they were applying for the permit, they were tossed around by government officials. He intends to lodge a complaint with the permanent secretary to the President, Eric Molale over the matter. 

He said they were only granted the permit on Friday at 7.30pm. The permit only allowed them to march from Notwane to the rally venue. Ntime said the police have been frustrating their efforts to stage demonstrations. But this will not deter them because they are going to continue with the protest marches. 'We are not going to be intimidated,' he declared. 

Ntime warned that this will not be the last time they march against the DIS. He said they are going to declare 2011, the year of mass action.

He dismissed DIS as a notorious organisation involved in violations of human rights, unlike its predecessor, the Special Branch. He said during a radio phone-in programme, one man from Good Hope related how he sustained injuries after he was attacked by DIS agents. 

He cited another case of a University of Botswana (UB) academic, Motsomi Marobela who was tailed by undercover agents last week. He said Marobela might have been followed not because of suspected stock theft but due to his political beliefs. Ntime said Marobela is a member of the International Socialist Movement, who has published many articles hitting hard on the government. 

He said DIS funds could be used for political purposes and this is why the money is not accounted for. 'This is why we don't want the DIS,' he charged as he called for the disbanding of the organisation. He suspects that the DIS is trailing him. He said he was forced to buy a Blackberry cellphone because he suspected that the other sets he was using are bugged. He said the phones were always making strange noises.

Ntime said every Wednesday morning at 4am he would receive strange phone calls and the person at the other end would make a funny noise. He reported the incident to the police.

He said the BNF is not against the country having a spy agency, but they are opposed to the manner in which DIS is run. Ntime said even the BNF used to have its own intelligence gathering wing. 

Addressing the same rally BNF president, Duma Boko wondered what security threat Botswana is facing to justify the formation of DIS. 'Do we really need DIS,' Boko asked rhetorically. 

'We should be asking whether DIS is capable of intelligence gathering. Does it have people who are capable of intelligence work,' he questioned.  'Do the men who are running the organisation have the expertise, not necessarily being marksmen,' he added.

Boko alleged that DIS has been maiming and killing people because it does not want to take them to court. He added that the cases investigated by the DIS do not end up in court like those that are handled by the police.

The BNF leader said the police have been trained for investigations, while DIS personnel have not been trained to do this.  He said DIS can do anything because they are only accountable to President Ian Khama. 'We want DIS disbanded.  DIS will get President Khama into trouble.  He will end up at the International Court of Justice,' he cautioned. 

Boko called on the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to give an assurance that they will hand over power if they lose elections.  He said there are concerns that Khama will extend his term. He added that the BDP must assure Batswana that their rights will not be abused. He said there are so many examples to show that the country is heading into a dictatorship.  He said the formation of DIS is one such example. 

Boko told the rally that there is no party, which is more patriotic than the BNF.  The BNF, he said, believes in the ballot system and not taking power by some crooked means.