CoA resoundingly backs High Court on Morupisi verdict
Mpho Mokwape | Monday November 25, 2024 12:42
A panel of three judges, CoA president Tebogo Tau, Justices Baaitse Nkabinde and Singh Walia agreed that trial court cannot be faulted for having ably connected the dots looking backwards at the intricate web of evidential material.
“The drawn-out web like bed of factual matrix contained in the record, delineated in the judgment a quo and further summarised above, sufficiently implicated the appellant beyond reasonable doubt,” said the judges.
The panel gave the former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) until today (Friday) to address them on why his sentence should not be varied.
He was convicted in November 2022 on two counts of corruption and one count of money laundering and was on count one sentenced to two years imprisonment wholly suspended for three years on condition that he does not commit the same offence.
On count two, Justice Chris Gabanagae of Gaborone High Court fined him P50 000 or five years imprisonment should he default, while on count three, he was fined P80 000 or eight years imprisonment, should he default.
Morupisi was further given 90 days to pay while the Toyota Land Cruiser which had been found to be proceeds of crime was forfeited to the State.
Delivering the judgment Justice Nkabinde said State proved the charges against Morupisi on all the three counts beyond reasonable doubt despite persisting that there was no evidence implicating him.
She explained that his choices of attack against State’s case clearly display his mendacity, particularly when regard is given to the evidence he admitted at the trial and the cogency of the entire prosecution case.
The judge lamented that it was unquestionable that millions of Capital Management Botswana (CMB) which managed Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) were illegally diverted to a South African company, Manor Squad and part of which was used to buy the Land cruiser being the subject of Morupisi’s case and subsequent conviction.
She emphasised that the diversion was part of the well-orchestrated plot to launder the Pension Fund's money following the predicate offence of corruption.
“The investigation unraveled the flow of money following the drawdowns and part of the money drawn was diverted to CMBF1 and subsequently to Manor Squad. Part of that money was used to pay for the Land Cruiser by Manor Squad,” she revealed.
Justice Nkabinde pointed out that Morupisi’s proof or repaying MSS by instalments was inconsequential in the circumstances because the fact remains that the Land Cruiser was bought through laundered money following the predicate corruption in count
She maintained that there was sufficient evidence regarding the diversion of money by CMB from Botswana Opportunity Partnership (BOP) bank account to CMB, CMBF1 and ultimately to Manor Squad noting that when Morupisi’s wife was interviewed she said that the vehicle was bought, and she referred to an agreement they had with Manor Squad.
“That presupposes that there was an instalment sales agreement in terms of which the vehicle was bought for them by Manor Squad using diverted funds from the BOP account which was never intended to be used for that purpose. It boggles the mind that the appellant persisted that he bought the car with his money. The brand-new car bought by Manor Squad was not a used car by any stretch of imagination. It was allegedly bought by R7 Group for home use,” she said.
The judge further said in her view, the alleged purchase was used as a cover to conceal the plotting, that neither Morupisi’s wife nor R7 Group had money to buy the Land cruiser as revealed by the investigations.
She noted that if it was true that she had seen the Land Cruiser in display at CHM Toyota in 2016 as she alleged and had developed an interest in it that begs the questions why the involvement of Manor Squad/Rapula Okaile who was one of the CMB directors became necessary?
“Why was it necessary for Okaile to make arrangements for its purchase? Why was a credit agreement not arranged with a banking institution for the purchase of the vehicle directly from the dealer, CM Toyota, especially if the appellant had funds to pay for it?
On transactions the judge explained that the drawdowns from the BPOPF account into the BOP account could only be used for investment and that it was common because that part of the money from BOP was diverted by CMB to MSS to buy the Land cruiser.
She questioned how, in these circumstances, could funds intended for investment be diverted into a foreign entity's account to buy a vehicle for the chairperson of the Fund who signed the contract against a court order and when the condition of due diligence had not been fulfilled?
“The answer to the questions above is simple: There was a valuable consideration in the pipeline. Morupisi’s attack on the findings that there was loan and contending that there was no evidence to support such finding, is simply clutching at straws. There was no denial that neither him nor his co-accused had no money to buy the Land Cruiser. Manor Squad also had no sufficient funds in its account,” she said.
The judge further stated that Principal Anti- Corruption technical Officer, Kentse Setlaboshane, employed at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC)'s discoveries were correct and his decision to press charges against Morupisi’s and co-accused, cannot be faulted and that in an able and admirably objective manner engaging in inferential reasoning regarding Morupisi’s complicity in the commission of the crimes, the trial court analysed the evidence presented before it.
She also emphasised that although the BPF chairperson did not attack the manner in which the trial court exercised its discretion or suggested that the proven facts did not exclude other reasonable inferences, he attacked the courts engagement of inferential reasoning in using all the evidence presented to connect the dots.
Justice Nkabinde explained that this was after part of the money from CMBF1 was diverted to MMS pointing out that people should not forget that it was the vehicle CMB used 'as the management account for varied clients' funds, so as to maximise their interest returns' and for 'withholding tax waiver on CMBF1'.
“Part of the funds diverted through this illegal vehicle was used to pay for the Land cruiser by Manor Squad. Setlaboshane who investigated the flow of money testified and also confirmed that Okaile was one of the directors of Manor Squad and that he resigned immediately after the Land Cruiser was purchased. In other words, he resigned when the plot was accomplished,” Nkabinde said.
In closing the judgment the panel said accordingly the conclusion of the High Court that the State proved the charges against Morupisi on all the three counts beyond reasonable doubt, was confirmed and also, the verdicts in respect of the three counts are confirmed.