27 May 2018

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has condemned an article in The Voice newspaper of May 25, 2018 titled “BDF Army Shake Up,” authored by Daniel Chida, making assertions of a shakeup on its high command.

A media statement from BDF director general, support staff services, Major General Mpho Mophuting says there are claims of the existence of a letter of dismissal directed to the Deputy Commander of the BDF, Major General Gotsileene Morake.

The statement says the BDF wishes to reiterate that the power to appoint and relieve BDF senior officers of their duties is the prerogative of the President and Commander-in-Chief.

That being said, the BDF is currently not aware of the existence of a dismissal letter meant for any senior officer to include the Deputy Commander. We wish to condemn quite strongly serious allegations carried in the article, which have the potential to cause unnecessary anxiety amongst members of the public.

It says it is regrettable that throughout the article the author makes a desperate attempt to misinform the public about the leadership of the BDF by painting a picture that puts the good name of the concerned individuals and the organisation into disrepute.

In the article the reporter states that “both military and political pundits opined that after the removal of Morake, the army commander, Lt Gen. Placid Segokgo, also perceived to be former president, Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama’s loyalists, would probably be the next to bite the dust in a move meant to pave the way for Major General Molefi Seikano, who is the current Commander of Ground Forces and President Masisi’s loyalist and homie from Moshupa village.”

The statement explains that members of the BDF including the high command are professionally bound to be subordinate to the government of the day as opposed to individuals, as alleged by the author.

It says it is misleading to make claims that the BDF leadership is loyal to individuals.

“In his questionnaire sent to BDF headquarters the author intentionally avoided sending detailed questions thereby denying the BDF the opportunity to provide accurate information that would have rendered his fabricated article irrelevant.

He opted to send only two questions requesting from the BDF to confirm if indeed the Deputy Commander had been dismissed from office as well as reasons for his dismissal.

The actions of the reporter leaves us with no option but to believe that there are some hidden motives behind the article, as supported by the statement that “a reliable source from within the BDF posited that Morake would be an easy target to get rid of because of his alleged offences amongst them fraternising with a female private officer and drunken driving charges.”

Furthermore, the statement says it is worth highlighting that the above-mentioned allegations were not mentioned in the inquiry and to set the record straight the allegations of fraternisation, abuse of office and drunken driving are not true.

“It is therefore unfortunate that the newspaper chose to run such an unbalanced article which paints an unfair picture of the Deputy Commander, Major General Gotsileene Morake and to a large extent that of the BDF,” reads the statement.

The BDF has reassured Batswana that their organisation remains a professional military establishment led by morally upright senior officers who are dedicated to serving Batswana in a professional and ethical manner.

It says allegations contained in the media are not only unfortunate but also misleading to say the least.

The BDF demands unconditional retraction of the article. ENDS