Africa-Press – Botswana. The BDF Commander Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo has dismissed as untrue claims by DIS Director Brigadier (Rtd.) Peter Magosi that the army purchased expensive land near the disputed Tautona Farm as stated during Magosi’s appearance before the PAC. Segokgo’s predecessor, Lt. Gen. Gaolathe Galebotswe, has also expressed shock, saying Magosi knows from his time at the BDF that the land in question has long existed and was never purchased by the army, further calling Magosi to explain why he lied to the PAC.
Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Commander Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo has refuted claims by Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) Director-General Brigadier (Rtd.) Peter Magosi that the army purchased expensive land near the disputed Tautona Farm.
The contradictions according to some point to a potential case of perjury which must be followed by the PAC.
Justifying the acquisition
Appearing before the PAC last week, Magosi sought to defend the DIS’s contentious purchase of the Tautona Farm, claiming it was acquired for operational purposes. In justifying the acquisition, Magosi asserted that the BDF had also procured land five kilometres from the Tautona Farm at a significantly higher cost despite it being smaller in size than the land acquired by the DIS.
However, in a statement that casts doubt over Magosi’s sworn testimony, BDF Commander Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo this week denied the claims in their entirety.
Denied claims
“We never bought any farm as claimed. We were given a plot by the state from land acquired by government in 1979, and part of it was reserved for the use of the defence force,” Segokgo said. “The plots we are given belong to government. We don’t get title for them, it’s for the state.”
Segokgo’s remarks directly contradict Magosi’s statements made under oath to Parliament, and have intensified scrutiny over the legitimacy of the DIS’s land acquisition, especially after the Auditor General revealed that the Tautona Farm does not appear in government asset records.
Misleading Parliament
Fueling the controversy, former BDF Commander Lt. Gen. Gaolathe Galebotswe also accused Magosi of misleading Parliament, stating that the land Magosi referred to has long existed and was never purchased, but allocated for defence purposes.
“First, DIS is not the custodian for state land. The Ministry of Lands is the custodian and procurer of state land,” said Galebotswe.
Galebotswe added: “Why Magosi lied to PAC is for him to explain more so because he lied under oath. The land he referred to has always been there during his days at BDF. Like General Segokgo said, financial constraints were a limiting factor for its development.”
The conflicting testimonies have raised serious questions about the integrity of official statements made to Parliament, and whether Magosi may have committed perjury, a criminal offence under Botswana law.
Speaking to this publication in an interview on what his views were on the matter, former chairperson of PAC, Nehemiah Modubule said: “PAC has a right to take a matter to court under parliament. Those who lie under oath can be charged for perjury” he said.
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