The Magosi file(s)
Where is Tymon Katlholo, the estranged helmsman at the graft-busting organ, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC)? Does his disappearance imply the end of his career? A few months ago, Katlholo fell out of favour with his principals for simply holding onto a principle that he was not ready to relinquish. He has now joined other top government civil servants who found themselves on endless suspensions like the substantive police commissioner, Keabetswe Makgophe and Victor Paledi, former deputy permanent secretary (also formerly DCEC DG) who are facing charges of aiding and abetting the alleged illegal possession of weapons by former president Ian Khama and his blue-eyed boy, former intelligence chief, Isaac Kgosi.
For some time, the corruption busting agency’s Katlholo and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director-General, Peter Magosi, have been at odds over administrative issues within the former’s purview.
Katlholo contended that the DIS had allegedly been trying to access DCEC investigation files, which ostensibly pointed fingers at some of the agency top spies. Of course as per our front-page story this week, amongst others, Magosi is implicated in one of the files that the DIS allegedly demanded from Katlholo and it is feared the investigations could already be compromised.
The DIS has been accused of interfering in tender proceedings/decisions in at least five projects under the pretext of investigating national security threats. The intelligence agency stands accused of using the veneer of national security investigations to ‘mask’ the alleged solicitation of bribes by its officials in the said projects.
Katlholo also noted that the DCEC’s investigations have uncovered that the spy operatives own assets that are allegedly not congruent with their known sources of income, hence the DCEC investigations. The official position in the suspended DCEC’s boss’ situation is that: “the decision to suspend Katlholo is necessitated by the fact that in the course of his official duties, he has misconducted and exhibited behaviour that is incompatible with the conduct of a public officer.”
Before his suspension, Katlholo had lamented that while the law decrees that he should enjoy autonomy in executing his duties, in reality that is not the case. Interestingly, there are allegations that the DCEC officers investigating the case incriminating Magosi and others, have since been transferred out of the DCEC as a smart and stealthy way of diametrically killing the cases they were investigating.
We are in possession of an apparent file docket in which Magosi appears to be the subject of investigation by the DCEC. In the public interest, we publish contents of this file so that the public should know as a right, what is possibly the source of the contentious relationship between the sister organs, the DCEC and the DIS.
We would also love to see this matter taken before a court of law so that the truth could prevail at the end of the day, without anyone interfering with the investigations, as it seems to be the case now.