26 Feb 2015

After much speculation and anxiety regarding operations of the country’s secret agency, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) has provided a unique situation to the local media by allowing them access to some of its facilities.

The tour took the media personnel to a small piece of land swallowed by the picturesque of a dry rocky landscape between the small village of Kopong and its peripheral grazing lands.

The purpose of the 30-minute drive to the north west of Lentsweletau was to clear delusions that had been doing rounds in one of the newspapers that the area was being used as a torture chamber.

According to the director general of DISS, Mr Isaac Kgosi, the piece of land along the Kopong/Lentsweletau road was an old abandoned quarry awarded to the Office of the President (OP) by the Kweneng Land Board in 2008. 

The abandoned quarry is approximately five kilometres from Kopong. The area was to be used as a firing range for the VIP protection officers in the Office of the President.  However, upon realising other pressing needs and operational logistics, the DISS, who had been allocated the land, applied for an extension of the plot in 2010.

“We did all the necessary procedures and contrary to what we hear, we never attempted to circumvent land allocation procedures,” explained Mr Kgosi.

In a written correspondence, the Kweneng Land Board informed the OP that at its sitting of November 6-9 2008, they considered and approved its application providing a sketch plan and measurements of the plot. The firing range, according to Mr Kgosi, was imperative as their officers had to be proficient with respective firearms that were to be used during their operations.

“Combat training is done here and it is disturbing to learn that we use the facility as a torture chamber.  We appreciate anyone’s viewpoint, but what is of great importance is the truth of the matter,” he added.

Media reports also speculated that the DISS obtained the plot under questionable circumstances and that the Botswana Defence Force was to use it as a training camp. Mr Kgosi explained that several kgotla meetings with the communities of Kopong and Lentsweletau were convened. 

The land was secured and was fenced and consultations with members of the neighbouring grazing lands was done and they were informed of the operations that were to take place there.

“When setting up a firing range, we provide for any necessary logistics, we hoist red flags that you see around here to sensitise people around us to avoid any loss to either livestock or human life as we use lethal ammunition.  Even now as I speak we have teams training here, but we won’t bother them,” he explains briskly giving sporadic orders to cameramen on hand to keep their lenses locked as the area was highly restricted.

After an hour and 30 minutes of the onsite visit, it was all over.  Television reporters rushed outside for another chance to record on-camera stand-ups in front of the building’s main entrance where the red flag swung lazily against the summer breeze. 

Still photographers jostled for pictures taken outside of the agreed upon parameters. It was another trip to the Phakalane operational office. 

Mr Kgosi denied allegations that the structure, which is on its infancy stage, was a tunnel that was connected to the OP.

The DISS boss rubbished claims that the building, which he said was just one of their operational offices, was in fact a multi-million Pula underground top secret bunker with escape tunnels between Sebele and Phakalane.

For the next 10 minutes, Mr Kgosi was to take questions in one of their top security offices in Phakalane.  Mr Aubrey Lute of the Botswana Press Council pleaded with the DISS boss to reinstate editor’s briefings as they had a chance to interact freely with him.

He said there was a growing need for the organisation to nurture a mutual understanding with the media, especially the private press and also communicate a standard practice on how they were going to handle and respond to questions posed to the office or to Mr Kgosi in person.

Mr Modise Maphanyane from the MISA Botswana chapter said intelligence agencies were not without their own challenges. He appealed with members of the press to always have the interest of the country at heart when handling intelligence information.

Mr Lawrence Seretse, a senior investigative journalist with the Botswana Gazette also pleaded with Mr Kgosi to establish a rapport with members of the private press. ENDS