The Director General of the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), Botlhale Makgekgenene, says they are under a process of re-enacting the existing corruption and economic crime Act to enhance its efficiency in combating economic crimes in Botswana.
Alongside amending existing laws, she mentioned, they intend to implement robust and effective anti-corruption strategies. Makgekgenene explained that since she joined DCEC in 2023, she figured out that there were lots of turmoil within the organisation, highlighting that since then she has been working on stabilising it which she believes is currently performing exceptionally well.
Makgekgenene alluded that though they remain committed to promoting anti-corruption and integrity in Botswana, corruption and economic crimes cases however continues to rise over time. She mentioned that alongside the past years’ turmoil within DCEC, the reluctance of the public to report corruption and other economic criminal activities contributed towards the growth of those activities.
“We are just glad that the public is now coming forth, directly to us, to report corruption and other economic crimes without fear, while others resort to maintaining their anonymity and hiding behind mere social media posts” she alluded. Makgekgenene appreciated the public for aiding the Directorate in fighting crime.
She alluded that in 2024 they received a total of 687 corruption allegations from the public, whereas in 2025 they received about 957 and from January 2026 to date they have registered 556 reports so far. Makgekgenene assured the public that these allegations are thoroughly followed, adding last year they had followed about 50 high profile corruption cases.
As per their newly proposed bill, which she mentioned is to be handed to the parliament in no time, issues such as embezzlement, misappropriation of donor funds, fronting amongst companies and individuals as well as cohesion by investors, will be criminalised and thoroughly investigated. Makgekgenene said however, her fear is that their case load overshadows their investigating officers.
“As of the 31st of December 2025, our case load stood at 1614 cases, of which 1095 are active, 89 are before courts and 269 are before the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) awaiting assessment of evidence or possible prosecution. Meanwhile our investigating officers across the country are currently 72 in number, which entails that on average one investigator handles about 20 cases while in actual fact they should be facing a minimum of 3 to at least 10 maximum cases” she stressed.
Makgekgenene wailed that the scarcity of workforce slows the progress of corruption and economic crimes cases. Meanwhile the Director General emphasized that despite these organizational challenges, they continue to yield results, stating that, out of a total value of P131 947 208 of assets pursuit for recovery they managed to recover a value of P 7 million, as of the 31st December 2025.
She stressed that in 2024 however the value of assets under pursuit for recovery amounted to P144 million while in 2023 they have only recovered 1 million 888 thousand Pula only. These statistics, she narrated, proves that corruption though high in Botswana has over the years remained hidden, not reported out as opposed to recent times.
