24 Jun 2021

Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee members have voiced concern about  Botswana Defence Force(BDF) recruitment vetting policy, which they said  discriminates certain members of the community.

Commenting on the presentation by the BDF Commander, Lieutenant General Placid Segokgo during the ongoing PAC session, Tonota legislator, Mr Pono Moatlhodi denounced the current BDF recruitment policy, saying it discriminated individuals with certain physical features particularly those with a shorter height.

He said it was worrying that some people who were eligible in the last BDF intake were rejected on the grounds of their height despite being able-bodied.

Mr Moatlhodi also expressed displeasure towards the BDF decision to reject recruits with body tattoos.

He called on the BDF to relax some of the recruitment requirements as they impacted the youth enrolment in the army.

The army, he said, had for years been a reliable source of employment in Botswana and being a soldier was considered a prestige occupation from yesteryear.

 Selibe Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse further expressed dissatisfaction with the justification behind the rejection of HIV positive army recruits.

 He argued that a mandatory HIV test was discriminatory and an invasion of privacy.

In response, Lt Gen. Segokgo highlighted the BDF recruitment process was done in accordance with BDF recruitment medical standards and all recruits were expected to undergo a selection process, which included both physical fitness and comprehensive medical examination.

According to the recruitment policy, he said, the minimum height was 165 centimeters and 160 centimeters for male and female respectively.

 The army commander said the height specifications were set in consideration of the length and weight of certain army artillery that army personnel dealt with on daily basis.

He further admitted that the recruitment policy also barred tattooed individuals since tattooed were associated with criminality and gangsters

 Lt Gen. Segokgo did not confirm the notion that some inspiring army recruits were barred from the army on the basis of their HIV status.

He said HIV testing for sentinel surveillance was done anonymously for army personal medical care, adding that results for HIV tests were not be used for discriminatory purposes.

Lt. General Segokgo explained that military training was  rigorous, hence the training could be stressful for an HIV positive person.

Military training, he said was designed to mould individuals into tough soldiers who could endure extremely stressful conditions during their tour of duty, and high level of HIV and AIDS in the military can undermine its effectiveness. Ends