09 Sep 2015

The former Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Leonard Sechele, has been described as an exemplary leader who executed his tasks with utmost conviction.

At a memorial service held in his honour in Gaborone on Tuesday September 8, Mr Sechele, who passed away last September 4 and is due to be laid to rest in Gweta on Saturday September 12, was depicted as a man of high moral values.

“He was an outstanding professional,” the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi said in his eulogy, “he had an illustrious career on the bench as a magistrate, then as acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund and later the director of Public Prosecutions.

He always performed his duties with utmost diligence.” Mr Kgathi impressed on the service, attended by among others the vice president, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, cabinet ministers, chief justice Maruping Dibotelo, and the former commander of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Lt General Tebogo Masire among many dignitaries, how Mr Sechele’s conduct was exemplary.

He said it was Mr Sechele’s forthrightness and maturity that had acted as an example to his peers. Furthermore, Mr Kgathi revealed how he cultivated a close friendship with Mr Sechele when they were roommates during their studies at the University of Botswana (UB) in the 1980s.

“Though we pursued different courses at the university in the 1980s, we became roommates from our first year, staying at UB’s Block 403 room one. As youngsters we would play reggae music out loud.  A decade later when we pursued our post-graduate studies at different institutions in the United Kingdom (UK), we would frequently meet in London and reminisce about home, he was a true friend,” Mr Kgathi said.

Police commissioner, Mr Keabetswe Makgophe, said the police service had benefited immensely from Mr Sechele’s tenure as a magistrate and prosecutor.
“We benefitted from his experience and guidance in the prosecution of criminal cases.  We would invite him to instruct the police on the fundamentals of criminal prosecution and he would share with us his legal experience.

The Botswana Police Service (BPS) still does prosecution work on behalf of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in many parts of the country. Mr Sechele would arrange training for the police, both investigators and prosecutors,” Mr Makgophe said.

Furthermore, Mr Sechele served for a full complement of six years as a member of the police council, an organ which acts as the appeals committee of internal disciplinary BPS procedures and in the Joint High Level committee of the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Otse.

Mr Makgophe described Mr Sechele as a brutally honest man who was always prepared to air his opinions in a straightforward manner.
ENDS