CJ admits 'Butterfly' case was the worst
Mpho Mokwape | Monday September 12, 2022 06:00
Admitting that the accused was brought to court on "fabricated evidence", he explained that the matter caused untold reputational damage to the criminal justice system.
“We are all aware of the Maswabi case, where the accused was brought to court on fabricated evidence.
That particular case caused reputational damage to our criminal justice system, not just here at home but abroad,” he said.
To put it in context, Maswabi was a spy agent for the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) until early 2019 when she was arrested, detained, and later charged in relation to the alleged P100 billion alleged to have disappeared from the Bank of Botswana.
It was later established by the courts that most of the evidence brought against her was a result of fabrications by investigating officers and was acquitted and recharged until recently when the Court of Appeal reversed that judgement. Now in one of the letters addressed to President Mokgweetsi Masisi in response to judge Ketlogetswe’s allegations of judicial interference, CJ explained that as head of the judiciary, he gets concerned when their institutions’ professional image takes the heat, therefore, that is why he is always concerned.
He said in cases like that of Maswabi, he is often concerned about the judiciary, its professional image and that it has nothing to do with interference as alleged. “In fact, I am on record in one of my legal year speeches expressing regret about the tendency of charging people first and investigating the case thereafter,” he explained. CJ pointed out that his concerns about the reputational image of the judiciary and security situations should not be taken as interference as it has been said.
He said his persistent security concerns were because there have been incidents in the past concerning the judiciary. “In the past, our premises in Selebi-Phikwe were broken into and set on fire.
This was followed by a similar incident in Mahalapye when the court was broken into and criminal files burnt to ashes. This year, Kanye Magistrates’ Court was broken into, chambers removed and burnt to ashes.
In May this year, a Magistrate was attacked at Molepolole,” he said. The CJ said his concern about Justice Ketlogetswe’s personal safety, that of the support staff, and the court premises was what informed his thinking. The CJ said he has never interfered in detaining Dr Thapelo Matsheka unjustly as his professional integrity would not allow him to do so.
He admitted that Matsheka was his high school friend and that he sent him a message of sympathy and support, which he acknowledged. “To suggest that I would as Judge Ketlogetswe has to unlawfully detain him is not only incredible but outright ridiculous. In any case, I would never do that even to my worst enemy,” he said.
Lastly, Justice Rannowane said he would consider his options including instituting legal actions against the judge for defamation.