Since inception in 2008, through the Intelligence and Security Services Act of 2008, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) have been the face of fear in the country.
In her response to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) the specially elected Member of Parliament, Dr. Unity Dow has called out the DIS. According to Dow, DISS has derailed from the mandate which it was established to do.
Dow has observed that: Botswana is suffering reputational harm; Individuals suffer loss of liberty; Individuals have to pay unnecessary legal fees; Individuals who have been suspended or fired unfairly suffer loss of income; The State has to settle cases that should never have been initiated in the first place; The State has to pay legal fees, as there is always a lawyer keen to argue a case, any case, regardless of how ridiculously unjustifiable it is; Constant phone surveillance is costing phone companies loss of revenue; Phone conversations in Botswana have to be some of the most boring in the world as everyone, expects that they are under phone surveillance.
All these, according to Dow are the DISS’s fault as the institution is careless, and disregards the rule of law in its operations.
“We, as a government, have failed to influence the publicβs perception of the DIS from the get go. The public has always viewed the DIS as a monster; we feared it and that became a self-fulfilling prophesy. We speak about it in whispers, we expect that they are listening to us as we converse on what should be private phones. Good governance is about transparency and there is absolutely little, if anything transparent, about the DIS.” Dow observed.
Moreover, Dow says the Directorate is bullying, and meddling with the internal affairs of some of government institutions like DCEC, BURS, CEDA, NDB, BDC, and PPABD. Dow says the reports of the DIS forging warrants, and fabricating evidence is worrying.
The legislator has called out on the president, and all the relevant stakeholders to take action, and call DISS to order, for the sake of the country and the future of the country;
“To the President, I say, demand the truth from your ministers, The AG, the Commissioner of Police and the PSP. They know Sir, that we are on the edge of darkness and if we donβt pull back now, our grand-children will spit on our graves.
To the judiciary, I ask, where is the jurisprudence on the DIS? Where is the guidance on lawful searches and seizures? Detention? On access to legal representation? I do not want to even imagine that our judiciary is as petrified of the DIS as many of us are. I am going to assume that no case has been presented that calls for the necessary direction from our courts. But I want to suggest that the DIS is mentioned so frequently before the courts at the moment that a more careful look at its activities is called for.
To my peers, bo-monkane, let me warn you, our grandchildren will pay the price for any cowardice we display at this defining moment in our democracy.
For me Mr. Speaker, as I deliver this contribution, I know that, it is not safe, it is not politic, it is not expedient, it is not popular; but, IT IS RIGHT.
I ask every member of this house to look deep into their souls and silently answer the question: What is whispering to you: Cowardice? Expediency? Vanity? Conscience?
Just remember what Proverbs 26:27 says: βHe who digs a pit will fall into it and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on himβ. Me thinks, Mr. Speaker, that this refers even to those who are standing close to those digging the pit or rolling the stone, but do nothing to stop the digging or the rolling.”
