Open letter to President Eric Masisi
I hope this letter finds you well Mr. President. I have no desire for political mileage let alone any vested interests to be involved in politics in any way, now or in the future. For the record, I abhor politics with a passion.
The Directorate of Intelligence Services has f*&%^$d up my life. Please excuse my untidy phrasing throughout this letter, I have really run out of phrases that truly describe the unfortunate position I find myself in.
In the beginning I was scared. I couldn’t sleep for days. I guess my perilous journey at the mercy of this fearful organisation and its equally feared Director General has quickly evaporated any form of fear in me. Even lawyers fear him.
To begin with, I am a civil servant. You may not remember, but we met while you were still the Minister of Education where over 200 million pula was almost lost for almost 23 million pula worth of a project during the initial set ups for Education Television. Who would forget your role in thwarting another major loss running into millions from the initial Japanese loan for the construction of the Kazungula Bridge?
At the end of every month, unlike many other Batswana, I get a pay slip. Normally, after all the tax deductions that leave me stifled, there is a message that says, “Say no to Corruption”. While we are still here, please issue a directive to the relevant department to quickly delete that message because it endangers the lives of ordinary civil servants like myself.
My real problems started when I said no to corruption. Ever since, I have been under investigation by the DIS, I have had my life up rooted and, in the process, survived criminalization as well as numerous threats to my life. I am under constant surveillance, with sim cards cloned, phones hacked and weekend meetings held about me as far as Manong Lodge. Please ask Fana to fill you in. I know he is hands on.
Sometime just after the winter of 2018, I was still pregnant with hope that your administration will finally bring about the changes and opportunities that will help propel this young nation to greater heights. It only ended in tears for me. Prematurely.
It does appear that in my quest to serve government diligently, I unknowingly angered members of a corruption cartel operating within the Department of Broadcasting Services by questioning the necessity of certain unbudgeted projects and the decline in quality of service by certain providers. Numerous unnecessary projects with over inflated costs are given to companies selected by the DIS where a proper tendering procedure would have been
adequate. Where does all this money gleamed from these projects end up? It turns out that this group had the blessings and protection of the DIS. To make it legitimate to use DIS resources to pursue my destruction, one of my spineless bosses who had everything to hide went on to lodge an official complaint with the DIS that he suspects that I am a spy. From then on, my life has been a mess in the darkest of places. Please do ask Fana about the whereabouts of a government owned CPU # G296235. It will be rather unfortunate and embarrassing if indeed the DIS is the axis of corruption in the country.
From there on, my life took a twist only possible through divine or Godly interventions except God was not involved in any of it and this twist was only for the worst. I quickly lost all I had, family, friends, associates and dignity. Why would government be interested in my sex life? Fana and his elite team can fill you in.
On a number of occasions, agents of the organization have delivered dossiers of half-truths
to some quarters of the media, structured in a manner only designed to discredit me in advance, lest I squeal before they have a chance to end my being. Fortunately, there are still some level headed editors out there who smelled a rat and refused to publish the thrash despite being offered droves of the tax-payers money. Mind you, this was at a time when COVID threatened to wipe out the media as we know it and the media was desperate for survival.
It is unfair for me to continue using the name of the DIS throughout as it turns out that the organisation is mainly filled up with professionals with integrity. It just so happens that there are some very rotten apples, with full knowledge that they cannot be investigated and chose to abuse their office. But I have no choice, this rotten apple will spoil others.
You are wondering why I didn’t go to the police right? Well, you will be disappointed to know
that I did and nothing came of it. I went as far as CRIB. I quickly lost faith in them too as it was apparent that those in the security services were protecting each other.
I have even met with Fana on the 14th of February 2020. I regret ever doing so. What a snake he is! Ask him what his worst fear is if I am to go public.
You see, the reason why I chose to write to you openly is that, under normal channels, this letter will never reach you. I have been to Office of the President countless times and I know there are those who don’t want you to know this. I am also concerned that with the amount of money and resources expended on me by the DIS, all in pursuit of private agendas, the prevalence of such actions has serious consequences. Do you know that they have offered a
bounty of P 10 million for my head? Where will this money come from? I am lucky I found out. I am lucky I am still alive, albeit temporarily. But how many other innocent citizens are behind bars or dead just because they tried to say no to corruption? I am disturbed because my hunters always introduce themselves as employees of Office of the President.
The 27th of March will mark exactly one year since I last saw my children. I can’t even talk to
them on the phone because the DIS is ready to use them to get to me. Had they been around, we would have shared the poisoned toothpaste, the coke or the scones courtesy of the DIS. I will not permit such danger to my children, hence my choice to stay away from them. I do not fear for my life anymore. I guess I earned it.
I have various exhibits and pieces of evidence that I would like to attach but given the mode of communication, it will be impossible to do so.
Please invite me for tea in your garden sometime. There will be no political discussions and I
like my tea hot, black with two sugars. If there is anything else drinkable to offer, please don’t hesitate. It’s been patchy! Perhaps then, I will be able to share with you in detail everything that Fana might conveniently forget to share with you. It will be perhaps irrational and irresponsible for me to share the gory details with the media before you hear them first hand. It is impossible to hide the truth forever. I have already been victimized and thrashed around. I will not hide behind anonymous names because I stand for nothing but the truth. If I die, I die.
Yours truly, Gaolaolwe Ralotsia
Employee of the Department of Broadcasting Services/ Botswana Television