Africa-Press – Botswana. The Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) is dilly-dallying in handing over former President Ian Khama’s official residence to his private security personnel, court papers show. This was after Khama succeeded in his bid to force the agency to hand over his official residence to his private security personnel. The issue arises from a decision by Gaborone High Court judge Godfrey Radijeng granting Khama access to his official house known as State House Number 4 following an application by Khama’s lawyers challenging the illegal sealing of the house by DIS.
Khama, who is currently self-exiled in neighbouring South Africa, later applied for an order that State House Number 4 be handed over to his private security personnel. Court records show that appearing before Radijeng in June this year, lawyers representing the two parties struck a consent settlement agreement. The settlement states that: “The parties draft consent order with annotations anointed filed on 22nd June 2023 is made an order of the court as follows: The respondents by consent shall handover State House No.4 to the Applicant’s Private Secretary on or before 26 June 2023 to enable the Applicant’s private security personnel and workers to resume their daily duties.”
Court records also indicate that the taxpayer is expected to pick the bill arising from the DIS’ decisions as the Court ordered that “The respondents to pay the applicant’s costs…” Indications are that the delay by the DIS to comply is also likely to be a breach of its obligation to the order. Khama’s lawyers are contemplating approaching the court in an effort to enforce the said order. In November 2022 the DIS, which was unhappy with Radijeng’s initial decision to grant Khama access to his official residence, withdrew its appeal before a panel of five justices, Tebogo Tau, Isaac Lesetedi, Mercy Garekwe, Leatile Dambe and Lakhivinder Walia.
At the time the Judges who were unamused by DIS’s indicated that all the parties had been notified that the judgment would be delivered on that day. They took issue with the State prosecutors’ decision to approach the bench 20 minutes before the court session seeking a notice of withdrawal. At the time, the judges threw out the application saying the decision to withdraw the appeal amounted to an abuse of the court processes.
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