The Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) was established in 2008 after the Parliament of Botswana passed the Intelligence and Security Services Bill in 2007. The founding Director General was Colonel (Rtd.) Isaac S. Kgosi who served until 2018. Brigadier (Rtd.) Peter F. Magosi was then appointed to head the DIS from 2018 and is the current Director General..

The DIS inherited some of the functions of the Botswana Police’s Security Intelligence Service (SIS), formerly called the Special Branch. The Special Branch was established in 1950s under colonial Bechuanaland, and collected intelligence through an informal network called Territorial Gossip (Tergos).

It was later organized and began transmitting information systematically to the Central Intelligence Committee (CIC) in Mafikeng. In 1998, The Special Branch under Botswana Police Services (BPS) was reconfigured and renamed the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) under the Director Generalship of Harold Mogale, a former BPS Deputy Commissioner.