DEFILEMENT OR WITCH-HUNT?
PS accused of defiling his cousin “It’s a plot to get me sacked”- Koboto
PERMANENT Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Dr Oduetse Koboto, has vehemently denied persitent allegations of defilement of his 17-year-old cousin, describing them as, “An intricate plot to tarnish my good name so the president can sack me.”
The 39-year-old PS from Sefhare is alleged to have defiled his cousin between 2014 and 2017. However, Koboto dismissed the allegations as a plot by a corrupt and ruthless syndicate associated with former ministers and high ranking government officials aligned to the previous admistration whose toes he has stepped on in his quest to root out endemic and systematic corruption at the ministry.
Koboto has revealed that since he ascended to the top post about a year and two months ago, he has fired “a sizeable number of people” and put others on suspension for corruption and maladministration.
“This is a plot to make me lose focus on the investigations that I am currently heading at the ministry. I shall not be deterred from doing my job by those who have a reason to deter me from protecting our country. Though I do fear for my life, I shall not stop doing my job in the interest of Batswana,” Koboto said as he hit back at his alleged foes.
He said that the many attempts to take him down started in 2019, when he was still a Director at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. A serious plot for his downfall, he said, was hatched when he brought to a halt a looting cartel in which Non-governmental Organisations dealing with conservation of endangered species were being used to solicit millions of dollars from international donors for personal gain and yet disguised as government programmes. “I have survived poisoning once as per my doctor’s diagnosis, so I fear for my life,” Koboto said.
He said he came to know of the plot when a woman who was recruited to falsely accuse him of rape later confronted him and spilled the beans. “After that, this syndicate then targeted the latest girl, my cousin” he said, adding that the plot was for one MP to eventually embarrass him during his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee so that women’s rights advocacy groups can pick up the issue and amplify it.
“The idea was to put pressure on the President to sack me,” Koboto explained in an interview.
Meanhile, the Botswana Police Service has refused to be dragged into the matter. Both, Broadhurst Police Station Commander, Superintendent Obusitswe Lokae, and Police spokesperson, Dipheko Motube, refused to discuss the issue saying it was not in their records.