State, Seretse latest face off in NPF looting
Mpho Mokwape | Monday April 18, 2022 06:00
In its latest attempt to recover some of the funds in the missing P230 million belonging to the national treasury, the State through the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said the very authorisation and disbursement of the funds was done pursuant to commission of criminal offences.
The State reckons the amount of P67, 734,260.00 and other assets belonging to Seretse and his companies were proceeds of crime.
DPP roped in attorney Busang Manewe who said those who facilitated the transaction of the disbursement of the funds breached the very trust reposed in them as public officers whilst others cheated the public revenue by diverting money belonging to the revenue for greedy ends and gains.
“We submit that there is evidence establishing on balance of probability that the involved parties were party to the fraud which then had, as its ultimate goal, the disbursement of public funds to achieve selfish and private interests,” Manewe said.
He explained that from the evidence they are convinced that the scheme hatched by the then minister, Sadique Kebonang in which Kenneth Kerekang and Seretse were involved whereby they ensured that the siphoning of the P230m from the NPF escapes the scrutiny of the NPF Management Committee smacks of nothing but fraud.
Manewe further said the ex-minister in ensuring that the DCEC and all others who may have abort his plan are called and informed not to, can only mean one thing ,he was hellbent to ensure by hook or crook that the public funds are unlawfully diverted from the NPF by using not his lawful powers but by abusing his position, power and influence.
“Like we said, both the ex-minister and Kerekang were dodgy when the subject of lawfulness of the disbursement was raised. The former minister prevailed in not withdrawing the unlawful diversion authorisation saying that it would look like they are fighting Isaac Kgosi. Kerekang ensured to dodge enquiries on the propriety of the disbursement, only for him to provide a flimsy and unlawful explanation on why the NPF committee was sidelined about a month later,” he said.
Manewe further submitted that the observation of Seretse’s response to the effect that the government committed fraud against itself only goes to show that indeed there was fraud and as to who committed the fraud was neither here nor there but the fact remained that the public was cheated of its rightful funds.
He said Seretse’s conduct added weight to the fraud to divert funds and he was the managing director of a company that was appointed fund manager and represented it at the NPF management committee.
“He disbursed money from NPF-Kgori account when he knew that the committee had not authorised it. He was also not in possession of the order from Kebonang. He knew the elaborate disbursement procedures of the NPF management committee because Kgori Capital was part of the said committee and it was the assets manager of the NPF,” he said.
He argued that there was cheating of public revenue as well as conflict of interest since Seretse was part of the NPF management committee through Kgori capital but still switched hats and received money as Khulaco company director.
“He ought to have declared that he stood to benefit from the transaction, and by failing to do so, he committed an offence of conflict of interest. On a balance of probability, he is guilty of conflict of interest,” Manewe said.
Meanwhile, Seretse didn’t take the accusations by State lying down asking pertinent questions as to how one breaches public trusts by using government money, on the orders of the very same government.
His attorney, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae explained to court that such a question was never answered by the DPP while government itself has never complained of any wrong doing in the use of its money.
“There has never been an affidavit filed by any person from the Office of the President suggesting that the money was not used accordingly or suggesting the contract was a scam, or that Isaac Kgosi had not been given authority to source money in the manner he did. In fact, the evidence on record to which the State attorneys make no reference whatsoever is that government was duly supplied with quoted items by Dignia Systems, a fact uncontroverted,” he explained.
He further explained that the allegations of conflict of interest and cheating the revenue, abuse of office and money laundering were made and that nothing from the aforegoing suggested that either Kerekang or Seretse sought to cheat the public revenue.
Ngakaagae submitted that the amounts disbursed were at the request of and for the benefit of the Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) a government department contracting on behalf of the Office of the President and that the fact remained uncontroverted too.
“For the same expenditure the Botswana government was supplied with armaments and services by Dignia Systems International, an Israeli company in terms of the invoice and that no suggestion was made by the DPP that the government did not get the items as per the invoice. Worse, no suggestion was made before the lower court judge that the contract was in any way fraudulent,” he said.
Ngakaagae argued that the government was using and continues to use the weapons and training which which was part of the 250 million NPF money was spent noting that if the government was of the view that the direction of the money was illegal, it would not be continuing to benefit from what the money was used for.
He pointed out that if there was any criminality at all it is between government and not his clients.
Judgement is due on April 29, 2022.