All indications are that Deputy Commissioner Operations Keabetswe Makgophe will be the next Commissioner of Police.But authorities have been tight-lipped regarding Makgophe, confirming only the Director of Traffic at Botswana Police Service (BPS), Bruno Paledi, as the new Deputy Commissioner Support Services effective yesterday. A source in the Office of the President says the two men were given their letters of appointment yesterday morning. While Paledi has confirmed his appointment, Makgophe has not, leading sources to suggest that he is being deferential to outgoing Commissioner Thebeyame Tsiamako who has a full month on the post.
"It is not true that I am the new Commissioner," Makgophe told Mmegi in a telephone interview last night. "As things stand, Thebeyame Tsimako remains the Commissioner of BPS until the President makes an announcement." But apparently hesitation was not necessary for the new man at Support Services whose predecessor, Ikwatlhaeng Bagopi, was transferred to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs as Permanent Secretary a few months ago. "It is true I have been appointed Deputy Commissioner Support Services with immediate effect," he told Mmegi last night. Both Tsimako and BPS spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Christopher Mbulawa, say they know nothing about Makgophe being appointed Commissioner. Both men have confirmed only Paledi's appointment.
