DIS: An asset or liability?
“So he gave you P900 000 cash?” The answer was affirmative. Puzzled, if not perplexed, Don Mackenzie went ahead with another question, “Is there anyone who can confirm that gift?” Interestingly, Isaac Kgosi’s answer was negative, “Nchindo used to do his things covertly he never wanted people to know what he did and so forth.” Then Mackenzie wondered, and in pursuit of clarity he threw in another question, “But this was definitely before you became the Director of the DIS?” Perhaps to his shock, the answer was negative, “No I was the Director General by then because he was on pension he was not working.” Just in case you are about to accuse me of plagiarising the script of a Mafioso crime thriller, this is in fact a word for word transcript of Isaac Kgosi’s interview at DCEC in 2012.
In the above episode, Kgosi made a startling claim that the late Louis Nchindo gave him a ‘ gift’ of approximately a million Pula to buy a farm.
The very basis of this transaction, which by the way we were expected to believe is simply that, “He was close to me, he was very close to me and then he was like a father figure to me and then I told him about it and that I wanted to buy it and so forth and then he said go and buy it and then he said I will help you out.” The point here is; the DIS is long dead. The transition from Kgosi to Peter Magosi was like moving a corpse from one morgue to another. It would not bring the dead back to life.
In all fairness, Magosi inherited a system that in car- crash terms could be described as, ‘ beyond repair.’ It is a pity we entrusted him with the mandate to reform or redesign the DIS into an ideal organisation that is consummate with the new strategic and operational environment. But by a casual eye, it seems things have, at hyper velocity moved from tragedy to comedy.
We are now in the realm of fiction and fantasy. In his much- revered anecdote- rich essay, “When everything is intelligence, nothing is intelligence,” Professor Wilhelm Agrell cautions that, the word” intelligence” has often been abused to attract an aura of respectability and to create an impression of ‘ knowing the unknown’ and of qualified analysis. We are now made to believe everything contrary of facts. I just think we have seen enough drama and heard enough lies.
We may have to start putting our dwindling money elsewhere, this DIS thing is beyond resuscitation. The continuing leaks of its information is degenerating into a national security challenge. I mean everything ‘ secret’ about them is now in public domain. The idea of having a state security organ was surely a noble one. Spying is a rational behaviour.
Espionage is a rational instrument of national power. Spies are a rational instrument of the state. As they say, it is just the nature of the beast. Looking at the unravelling geo- strategic environment, intelligence capability is a necessity. But in the DIS, it is safe to say, we are getting more than what we bargained for. Instead of being a national asset, it has turned out to be a liability.
However, we seem to have accepted the sad reality that, deception and blackmail are essential tools for statecraft. By this, we have resigned our responsibility, dignity and moral duty to the highest bidder.
As a nation, we stand at a critical juncture; COVID- 19 is ravaging both lives and economy. Instead of being part of the solution, state institutions have become part of the problem. Instead of being part of the cure, they have become part of the disease. This blurry line between state and the polity is not a new thing; it is a historical anomaly in our political ecology. State institutions, in particular the defence and security sector must remain independent from political contamination.
Their independence counts for many but two reasons, objective and accurate strategic picture and guardians of state in times of crisis ( political or otherwise). However, we are faced with intelligence dilemma.