Gov’t defends blurred BDF, police duties
The Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Kagiso Mmusi has revealed that the decision to draw the military into what was traditionally classified as policing is the manifestation of crime into areas which blurred the lines between crime and threat to national security.
While among the key functions of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) is to defend the country and provide for the security of Botswana through aiding civil authorities in domestic support operations, recently more military personnel have been deployed to perform police duties mostly alongside the Botswana Police Service (BPS). In actual fact, compared to the police, BDF troops are trained to kill and are equipped with the most efficient weapons. But these trained members of the force have been serving as police officers, a job that involves entirely different expectations and holds them to a dissimilar standard.
Mmusi, who was responding to a question from Member of Parliament (MP) for Okavango Kenny Kapinga in Parliament this week, said the decision to deploy the military is provided for by the laws of Botswana and the BDF Act therefore, they are doing nothing wrong. Kapinga had asked why the government considers it normal and ideal for the military to be deployed in policing duties routine. In his explanation, Mmusi said the recent spike of cash-in-transit heists where criminals use weapons of war, a systematic poaching challenge, transnational crimes together with the imminent threat of terrorism, are some of the manifestations, which compelled joint effort between all security agencies. He said this means working together on simple yet but preventative tasks such as police patrols. “It should be appreciated that both the BDF and BPS exist to provide security to the lives and property of the people of Botswana. Both are therefore, at the disposal of the government to deploy and address any threat to the safety of Batswana,” he said.
Mmusi added that resource limitation in their security agencies including BPS cannot be denied but partnership between the BDF and BPS is an operational necessity which is not only unique to Botswana and not necessarily a major of resource constraints on either party. “Aid to civil authorities by the BDF is not just limited to BPS but it is extended to all civil authorities when the need arises.
He indicated that the arrangement is done with the acceptance that no department can be resourced to a point where it will never seek external assistance. Mmusi said this is extended to compliment civil authorities where their resources are stretched by abnormal circumstances like spike in certain crimes, armed robberies and disasters. Mmusi also highlighted that the BDF shall in the interest of national security cooperate and work with other security organs in the discharge of its mandate.
“The Commander may, at the request of the Commissioner of Police, and with the consent of the President, authorise the use of any member or unit of the Defence Force in support of, or to give assistance to, the Botswana Police Force in the discharge of their functions under Section 6 of the Police Act,” reads Section 33, (1) of the BDF act.
As for the Police Act, it states that the BPS shall perform such military duties within Botswana as it may be required of under the authority of the President as Commissioner-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. “The Force shall be employed in and throughout Botswana to protect life and property, prevent and detect crime repress internal disturbances, maintain security and public tranquility, apprehend offenders, bring offenders to justice, duly enforce all written laws with which it is directly charged and generally maintain the peace.”
Furthermore, Kapinga had asked if the government does not realise that the BDF is taking the role that was supposed to be played by the police. “They are using the military to perform basic duties such as patrols so are you not limiting the role which would otherwise been performed by the police?” he questioned.
While the former deputy commissioner of police asserted that the government should evaluate the decision to use armed military personnel in areas populated by civilians, it now brings up a question of whether the leadership must tread carefully when examining the additional responsibilities that come with putting BDF in environments like police patrols. Trained for situations like war, soldiers usually operate in a frenzied and perplexed environment where civilians can become potential enemies. In comparison, police on the other side confront a more understandable and controlled situation and are required to try to achieve their task without using weapons. There are some in the military who are trained to play both police and commando but sometimes it becomes difficult for soldiers to be effective policemen.