I am ready for anything— Kgosi Mosadi Seboko
Mpho Mokwape | Monday October 10, 2022 06:00
I have had sleepless nights since our meeting and I wonder how he sleeps at night?" This was the declaration Kgosi Mosadi Seboko, the Kgosikgolo of Ba Ga-Malete who had a mouthful to share from her apparent meeting with President Mokgweetsi Masisi, made recently.
Kgosi Seboko had called a meeting to address the media ahead of their legal tussle with government over a piece of land. Kgosi Seboko exposed Masisi’s meddling hand in the affairs of the land saying she will never keep quiet or be part of the ‘never mind’ ilk just to save her skin.
The chief said despite receiving messages that she would face dire consequences should she continue fighting the government on the Farm Forest Hill 9-KO she won't let down her tribe nor the nation of Botswana by not speaking up.
She said just like England’s Queen Elizabeth she had been widely celebrated, she too would want to have that kind of legacy.
Laying down her surprise meeting with the President at the state house, Seboko shared that last year July their victory of the High Court judgment was short-lived as she received a call from the area Member of Parliament Lefoko Moagi telling her that he has been sent by the President Masisi that they should come to State House.
She pointed out that at that moment she did not think much even though the number that Moagi called her with was not the usual number she often communicate with.
“He called me with a different number and I did not record the number because at the time I did not think there was something wrong. He told me that I should come to State House and not come with anyone still, I didn’t overthink because I was used to dealing with the MP without any issues,” he said.
Mosadi Seboko pointed out that around that time she was on her way to Mogobane village for a development trust meeting, which she had to cut short to honour the invite that was scheduled for 12 noon.
She said when she arrived in Gaborone she went straight to Parliamentary houses where she called Moagi who came to pick her with a Toyota Fortuner she was not familiar with.
“We went to State House and we were informed to wait for the President. It was at that moment I asked Moagi what exactly we are being called for and he told me that he did not know as well of which I believed him," she explained.
Mosadi Seboko said that after a long wait, The President finally arrived and that the first thing he said to her was that they are not intending to take her farm.
Mosadi Seboko said she was surprised to hear what all Masisi said to her about not taking the farm while that same week on July 4, she received court summons from the Attorney General and Malete Land Board which they want Title Deed through an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
“Masisi assured me that he knew that I received those papers and asked if I have read them. Since I did not due to time, he asked that I ask my attorney to read them for me and since I did not read the papers I didn’t dispute that they were not taking the Farm,” she said.
Mosadi Seboko shocked the press when she revealed that what followed was the words, “The judges who handled the case were mischievous,” and pointed out that was the reason why they were appealing.
She said she was also shocked because she thought or knew that the judges did their job diligently and did not understand what it was said they were being mischievous.
As if that was not enough, she emphasised that Masisi then said to her that they will take the land and later return it to them through his own writing, which she had to question what he meant since the case was still pending before the courts of law and has not been decided.
She spoke that at that moment she was asked to switch her phone off and that it was scary that all of a sudden she was asked to do.
At that moment the Bamalete Paramount chief was told, “ I am telling you I will give you the land through my own writing”. It was then that Mosadi Seboko asked the President how can she trust him and further asked a question of how does the President know which direction the case going to take and he said ‘nyaa ke buile the di judge(No, I have spoken to the judges) and I was told to think what I will say to the tribe since it is their land not mine,” she said.
The chief also noted that not shortly after she called the MP informing him that he has read the papers and it showed that the government totally does not agree with the judgement of the High Court and still want to fight them and that he told him to go back to Masisi and inform him that the papers are not what he was saying therefore, he should go back to AG since it seemed like there was miscommunication.
She said after a while moving in circles with Moagi without reaching a resolution, one day he (Moagi) called me saying he wanted to come check up on me and we agreed to meet on the September 5, and he honoured the agreement.
“He came with Basimane Bogopa and introduced as legal advisor of the Botswana Democratic Party and shortly Tshiamo Rantao who is one of our attorneys arrived as well. I realised the MP called him and I wondered why our attorney was called at that moment,” she reminisced.
Mosadi Seboko revealed that the MP told her they were sent by Masisi and that he was saying, ‘you should keep quiet about this land issue’ since he told you that he will return it once they have taken it and that she asked the same question about why the President keeps saying he would return the land when the case has not been done.
She said she had to ask why he keeps saying "a buile le di judge" and that the name of the judges should not be revealed to her which infuriated her even more.
In conclusion, Mosadi Seboko told them that they should go tell the President what was right, and it was agreed that the appeal be withdrawn and a new law be made and there was an agreement that the two attorneys would go and draft that law and last we heard it was before Masisi and the case was still on which we had to inform the tribe.
Mmegi reached the Office of the President (OP) for a comment. The OP could not respond by the time of going to press citing that issues raised by Mmegi were legal issues and that they had sent their response to the Attorney General (AG) for approval.
For his part, the Law Society Chairperson Tshekiso Tshekiso also shared that the Society was treating Kgosi Seboko’s statement seriously and that they will soon share their position.
Tshekiso further shared that Kgosi Seboko’s statement is an add-on to what they have always raised which is that the judiciary is captured.