Magosi, PSP sleaze dockets ‘back to owner’
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday March 6, 2023 06:00
These are the same controversial corruption dockets which led to the raid and sealing off of the offices of the then DCEC DG, Tymon Katlholo and his eventual suspension last year.
German was investigating top echelons of the public service and his office was custodian of files which could have led to the possible prosecution of Magosi, Peloetletse and Pilane.
The former Senior Assistant Director, legal services at DCEC who is now taking actors in his arrest and detention head on has revealed that Peloetletse, Magosi and Pilane were his suspects before his arrest on June 8, 2022 and transfer on October 10, 2022.
To his surprise, upon return from leave following his arrest and detention, German says his supervisor and DCEC Deputy Director General, Priscilla Israel readily accepted that she had taken the files and that she had “given them to their owner”.
German said he never got to know who the said owner was. In the writ of summons issued by his lawyers of record, Dingake Law Partners, German says before his arrest and transfer he had custody of investigation files/cases stored in his office safe, in which Peloetletse, Magosi and Pilane were suspects. The summons was issued on February, 27, 2023.
“Six dockets of case (yellow files), in which Magosi is the accused, were prepared for transmission to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) to be considered for possible prosecution. There was also a docket of case in which Pilane was a suspect, containing evidentiary documents; to wit, a report from computer forensics, laptop and other gadgets. The case related to leakage of DCEC confidential information in what infamously came to be known as the “Wounded Buffalo case” in the DCEC circles,” German further disclosed.
German, who is now Chief State Counsel at the office of the Attorney General (AG) under the International and Commercial Division has also indicated that two dockets of the case, in which Peloetletse was the accused, were prepared for transmission to the DPP for consideration of possible prosecution. He also said there was a docket of case in which Pilane was a suspect, containing evidentiary documents; to wit, a report from computer forensics, laptop and other gadgets.
He said the case also related to leakage of DCEC confidential information in the infamous 'Wounded Buffalo' case. German added that he had conducted investigations in this case with Oteng Seemule, a retired assistant director. Now, revealing what happened to the files after he was released from detention on June 10, 2022, German said on June 16 2022, he went to his office at the DCEC, to collect some personal belongings and was surprised to find his office door ajar with some occupants inside, when he knew that he had left it locked.
He emphasised that the door had no spare keys; the only set of keys to his office were in his possession. Upon entering the office, German said he noted that there were three people in the office, a certain Onthusitse Madongo, an employee of the DCEC, deployed under the Intelligence Division who is also a close confidante of Pilane. He said Madongo was with two other men he didn’t know.
“One of the unknown men was fiddling with the safe locks, which safe was open,” he further recalled. German then said he asked Madongo what he was doing in his office and how he got in, since he (German) had all the keys to the office with him. Madongo is said to have turned dumb and his companions could only nod towards him as the one who could provide answers. German said he took photographs of the situation in his office and reported the office and safe break-ins at Urban Police Station.
He said the case was subsequently transferred to Borakanelo Police Station where he was attended to by both the Station Commander and a certain Duna of the Criminal Investigation Department. He said when he resumed duty on June 20, 2022 at the DCEC he was then given a new set of keys to which he refused demanding the keys he had left therein be accounted for first. He added that the inventory was subsequently taken in his presence and that of his then supervisor, Edwin Batsalelwang, and Israel.
German pointed out that the investigation files relating to Peloetletse, Magosi and Pilane, which had been stored in his office safe were not availed. Furthermore, German avers that he was unlawfully arrested at the instance of Magosi and Pilane and subsequently transferred by Peloetletse, all suspects in the cases he was investigating and was the lawful possessor of all investigation material relating to the said files. German alleges that Magosi, Pilane and Peloetletse thus colluded to pervert the course of justice.