Debswana spy scandal deepens
Mpho Mokwape | Monday March 14, 2022 06:00
Motshidi is suing Debswana for P110 million he claims he is owed for various deep cover services provided, which include the alleged spying on the union and lobbying high profile personalities to ensure the appointment of Albert Milton as Debswana boss in December 2018. Milton passed away in August 2019.
Yesterday, Motshidi, the managing director of Infotrac, an intelligence and security consultancy, took to the stand at the High Court before Justice Abednego Tafa, insisting that he had done clandestine work for both Debswana and the late managing director.
Present in court was former Directorate of Intelligence and Security head, Isaac Kgosi.
In court, Debswana lawyer, John Carr-Hartley, attempted to parry away Motshidi’s testimony. The lawyer requested and was granted an opportunity to make a statement for the record.
“I wish to put it on record that that surveillance equipment which Infotrac was engaged to procure was not for the purposes which the plaintiff says it as for, but rather to monitor diamond thieves and those involved in diamond illicit trading,” said Carr-Hartley.
Motshidi was however, unshaken.
“The statement is false and misleading,” he said. “That is not the brief I was given when I was given the task to procure the equipment. “The brief as given by Debswana security and intelligence directors was solely to monitor and spy on union members.”
Cross examining Motshidi, Carr-Hartley said some of the people listed in Motshidi’s list of people he lobbied for Milton were irrelevant in the diamond company’s chain of command or decision making. However, a composed Motshidi countered that the Debswana’s view of intelligence and spy work was “simple”.
“Lobbying does not work like that,” the Infotrac director said. “Lobbying an office cleaner can be a more fruitful and strategic move than going to his/her manager.”
In previously filed papers before court, Motshidi alleged that he had lobbied high profile personalities such as then vice Ppresident, Mokgweetsi Masisi, the late Bank of Botswana governor, Linah Mohohlo and Kgosi.
Yesterday, Motshidi dropped another bombshell allegation, saying the reason Milton required lobbying was because he believed then outgoing Debswana boss, Balisi Bonyongo and “others” would sabotage him. Prior to taking over as Debswana managing director, Milton was the Jwaneng Mine general manager, with Bonyongo as his immediate superior.
“They (Debswana leadership) said Bonyongo believed that Milton was engaged in a relationship with his wife and that he (Bonyongo) was bound to use that to sabotage him (Milton) hence the need to lobby extensively,” Motshidi claimed.
The Infotrac director said former Permanent Secretary to the President, Carter Morupisi, who was also Debswana chairman, was aware that the diamond company owed him the millions. Motshidi said Morupisi had said the matter would be settled.
For Debswana, Carr-Hartley said the allegations and the money being demanded were outrageous.
“There is no way Debswana would have agreed to this figure and we want to put it to you that this was not an agreement with Debswana but Milton. “That is why all the correspondences were not addressed to Debswana but to the people you were dealing with,” he said.
Motshidi insisted that he was dealing with the Debswana heads in their capacity as heads of Debswana and not as individuals as claimed by Carr-Hartley.
The case was adjourned to a later date.