The Botswana High Court has ruled in favour of two senior officers of the country's Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) who sued the state for unlawful arrest, detention, and breach of privacy they claimed were related to their investigations into alleged procurement irregularities and operational mismanagement at Air Botswana (BP, Gaborone).
According to the Botswana Gazette and the News&All website, the court on November 3 granted default judgment to Pulane Pretty Kgoadi and Paul Desmond Setlhabi against the Attorney General, the DIS, and the Botswana Police Service, who had failed to appear in court or submit arguments.
The court found the officers’ arrests, detentions, searches, and denial of access to legal counsel and family were "wrongful and unlawful". The pair had sought BWP4.45 million pula (USD320,000) in damages, alleging they were targeted to suppress their findings following covert investigations sanctioned by former President Mokgweetsi Masisi into Air Botswana and DIS director-general Peter Fana Magosi. The matter has been referred to the High Court registrar to assess the damages.
Kgoadi's lawyers, in a leaked October 28 letter to the president's permanent secretary, Emma Peloetletse, alleged that a fleet modernisation project at Air Botswana had been "a simulated transaction for unlawful purposes," the Botswana Gazette reported separately. The lawyers claimed the procurement process had lacked regulatory oversight and due diligence, and that some aircraft purchased "would not be able to fly upon arrival in Botswana as they did not meet Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) requirements". They also alleged that senior Air Botswana officials held positions without proper qualifications.
The lawyers said Kgoadi was removed from the investigation, suspended, and arrested following a complaint by Air Botswana's then CEO, Lulu Rasebotsa.
Rasebotsa declined to comment when approached by ch-aviation, while Air Botswana was not immediately available. The allegations around procurement practices at Air Botswana were first reported in September 2024.
Rasebotsa's contract was terminated with immediate effect on October 21, despite disciplinary charges against her, filed by the Transport Ministry, Attorney-General, and Air Botswana, having been withdrawn on October 15. She had filed an urgent interdict to have 21 counts of maladministration and underlying board recommendations against her declared unlawful and procedurally improper. She had been suspended on June 30 following the appointment of a new board.
