There are serious questions as to how a man once declared a prohibited immigrant found his way into the Office of the President and gained access to the highest levels of government.
Jerry Chitube’s journey through Botswana’s corridors of power has taken another unexpected turn and raised serious concerns about the vetting of individuals entrusted with access to the highest offices of the State.
The Zambian national, who was declared a prohibited immigrant and deported from Botswana in 2015 under former president Ian Khama, was reportedly taken into custody by law enforcement officers on Wednesday morning to be questioned in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alleged fraudulent issuance of diplomatic passports.
Chitube’s past is marked by controversy and allegations involving senior political and intelligence figures. But somehow he managed to return to the country and secure a position within the Office of President Duma Boko.
Chitube’s past is marked by controversy and allegations involving senior political and intelligence figures. But somehow he managed to return to the country and secure a position within the Office of President Duma Boko.
Chitube was deployed to the Presidential Projects Advisory Team, where he was presented as a Presidential Projects Adviser working under the Office of the Presidential Advisor – Projects. His official profile describes his responsibilities as supporting the development, structuring and implementation of strategic national and regional projects.
The position placed him within an institution responsible for coordinating government business, presidential advisory services, national security and the implementation of government policy.
It also gave him proximity to the Executive, with Chitube understood to have accompanied ministers on international engagements and participated in engagements involving government officials and prospective investors.
In February 2015, Chitube was apprehended by security agents shortly before the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) youth congress in Masunga, where he was contesting for the chairmanship of the party’s National Youth Executive Committee.
Subsequent investigations by The Botswana Gazette established that he was a Zambian national who had allegedly been using an invalid Omang identity card.
He was subsequently deported and declared a prohibited immigrant. But his 2015 deportation was accompanied by a series of damaging allegations about his alleged dealings with influential political figures and the intelligence establishment.
In an April 2015 investigation headlined Was Chitube’s alleged R500 million illegal diamond deal the reason he was deported?, The Botswana Gazette reported alleged business dealings involving Chitube, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS), and individuals within the political establishment.
The newspaper alleged that Chitube had been involved in questionable diamond transactions and had enjoyed relationships with senior figures in the intelligence community.
The then DISS director-general, Isaac Kgosi, denied that the intelligence service had engaged in illegal dealings with Chitube.
A separate investigation by the publication also reported allegations surrounding a proposed P150 million oil transaction involving Chitube and prominent political figures. These were serious allegations, but they were not findings of criminal guilt.
Chitube’s reported association with the intelligence establishment also resurfaced in a March 2017 Sunday Standard investigation, which alleged that he had been used in an intelligence operation involving former president Ian Khama’s close associate, lawyer Parks Tafa.
The reports placed him within the orbit of then intelligence chief Peter Magosi’s predecessor, Isaac Kgosi, and the political intrigues of the Khama administration.
His subsequent emergence as a government adviser under the Boko administration therefore raises questions about what background checks were conducted before he was entrusted with responsibilities within the Presidency. The most immediate question is when and how his prohibited immigrant status was lifted.
His subsequent emergence as a government adviser under the Boko administration therefore raises questions about what background checks were conducted before he was entrusted with responsibilities within the Presidency. The most immediate question is when and how his prohibited immigrant status was lifted.
Under the Khama administration, Chitube had been considered sufficiently problematic to warrant deportation and a prohibition on his return.
Yet he was subsequently back in Botswana during then President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s administration.
The latest development comes against the background of an unfolding diplomatic passport scandal that has already raised questions about the integrity of Botswana’s immigration and document-issuance systems
Earlier this week, Tuesday Grill reported that former president Mokgweetsi Masisi’s signature was allegedly forged in the processing of some diplomatic passports.
