DIS wants to destabilise DCEC – Katlholo

Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) director-general, Tymon Katlholo says he has a strong belief that the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) purposely wants to destabilise or micromanage his agency.

Katlholo, who has taken the war to the spy unit and refused to release classified investigation files, accusing the unit of expanding its footprint to the internal affairs of the DCEC, which subsequently experienced an unprecedented leakage of investigation files.

In a letter recently addressed to Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), the director-general said DIS’ conduct was unbecoming and needed to be addressed.

“Right or wrongly so, the DCEC has a strong belief that there seems to be a quest on the part of the DIS to either micromanage the DCEC or deliberately wants to administratively destabilise it,” he said.

Katlholo, elaborating on his suspicions, said the DIS issued vehicles to some officers of the DCEC for personal use without taking him into confidence on its activities concerning such officers, save for unprocedural demand of resources of the DCEC to foster such activities. He explained that just recently the DIS handpicked some of his officers and through the office of the PSP, his office was asked to release the named officers to the spy unit to undertake an urgent operation.

“The DCEC finds it quite disturbing that under those circumstances, it was not supposed to have an appreciation of why it should release the officers concerned.

Attempt to seek clarity from DIS was met with arrogance, negativity and little regard for accountability on the part of the DIS as if it was expected for the DCEC to blindly follow the instruction,” he said.

Katlholo said he does not expect the DCEC to give DIS instructions on the deployment of its resources and therefore does not expect DIS to do the same to DCEC except for where there was a mutual agreement between the parties.

With regards to national security, Katlholo pointed out that his agency was entrusted with an aspect of maintenance of national security with respect to corruption and that DIS must work with DCEC or any other ministry/department but not coercively. He said he found it absurd for the DIS to suggest that investigations at DCEC, carried in conformity with the law, could constitute a national security threat. “That line of thinking defies the logic. What constitutes a national security threat from where the DCEC stands, is where there is engrained public perception or feeling that government officials entrusted with public authority are engaged in activities that undermine the public trust and confidence, leading to distortion of policies, overzealousness, and impunity, particularly with respect to enforcement of the law,” he wrote.

He further said it was worrisome for the DIS to demand classified investigation files from officers of DCEC and even go to the extent of summoning and keeping such officers at their facilities until the wee hours of the morning to interview them about the conduct of the corruption agency without Katlholo’s knowledge as he is by law the custodian of such information.

Katlholo explained that as it stands, they are currently seized with investigations of allegations of corruption by high-ranking officials of the DIS present and past, of which some of such investigations were at an advanced stage and are under consideration for prosecution.

He said that whoever demands those files outside established protocols, irrespective of who is involved is illegal in conduct and is tantamount to abuse of office.