25 Mar 2024

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Botswana Police Service (BPS) have lost one and three officers respectively due to citizenship renunciation issues.

According to the Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi, who was answering a question in Parliament on Thursday, none of the four officers was re-absorbed into service.

He said with the BDF employee, the non commissioned officer, one of whose parents was South African, had not renounced his South African citizenship at 21 as required by law.

The trio from BPS were special constables whose contracts were terminated due to their questionable citizenship status.

The minister however stated that the Botswana Prison Service had not recorded any similar case.

Francistown West Member of Parliament, Mr Ignatius Moswaane had asked the minister to state the number of BPS, BDF and Botswana Prison Service officers both commissioned, non-commissioned and civilian personnel who had lost their jobs because of renunciation delays.

He had also wanted to know the number of the officers in question who had been re-absorbed into service. Ends