State accused of ‘sabotage’ in P12m tender case
Larona Makhaiza | Wednesday July 16, 2025 14:10
Moreri is facing charges of corruption and abuse of public office contrary to Section 2A (1) and conflict of interest contrary to Section 31 (1) (b) of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act.
He is alleged to have influenced the outcome of the appointment of Nexim (Pty) Ltd, in a tender worth P12.5 million, which was for the procurement of Oracle Super cluster (M7-8) Server Machines.
His involvement stemmed from the accusation that he did not declare his friendship with the company director, who was eventually awarded the tender.
When the matter came before the Regional Magistrate, Mareledi Dipate yesterday (Monday), the State moved an application to amend the initial charge sheet.
“We are applying that a new charge sheet be read to the accused person as there are amendments to be made to it.
“We have furnished the defence with the new charge sheet,” Prosecutor Mmapatsi Tshimologo from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions told the court.
Tshimologo further applied that the case be committed to the High Court for trial.
However, Kambai strongly opposed the two applications, bemoaning that they were not given sufficient time to peruse the committal documents and respond.
He argued that not being given sufficient time by the State already puts them at a disadvantage, which is not fair to them.
“This morning, we were served with a notice of committal proceedings documents. These were dated July 11, which is like two days ago, as they want to commit my client to the High Court. That is extremely short notice,” Kambai contested.
The defence further said there are still outstanding statements that need to be registered before the matter can proceed to the next stage of proceedings.
Moreover, Kambai bemoaned that there are irregularities with the list of witnesses that was initially furnished to them.
“Again, this morning we were given a new list of witnesses, which is far different from the one we received in June, compared to the one we received a short while ago,” he added.
To put themselves on the front foot in the matter, Kambai standing for the accused requested that they be furnished with all documents and pleaded for more time to go through the documents.
“There are several statements or minutes that the accused will request, as it seems that there were several meetings with high government officials starting from the Office of the President,” he said.
“The accused will also demand an order that a copy of the investigations diary from inception to prosecution,” Kambai said.
Further on the issue of committal to the High Court, Kambai said it baffles him why prosecutions intend to move the matter from the Magistrate's Court if it was registered there initially.
In response to the accusations levelled against the State in regard of sufficient time, Tshimologo berated that the defence for claiming they were not given enough time.
“The defence attorney is not being candid. The statements were received on July 10. His saying the statements are entirely in a short period is not correct,” Tshimologo said.
However, Kambai responded that on the date, he was away in Francistown for another matter and pleaded that proceedings be adjourned.
On the issue of why the matter should be moved to the High Court instead of continuing at the Magistrate's Court, Tshimologo said the decision lies with the prosecution.
“My response is that all criminal (cases), unlike civil matters, the law requires that they have to go through the magistrate for preparatory examination through a notice of indictment at the High Court,” he said.
He yielded to the plea by the defence that they be furnished with all documents they were requesting.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Dipate leaned towards the side of the defence and accorded them enough time.
“Let's just be fair to them and give them time to consider the documents, and we will convene on a later date. So let's not put the charge sheet on him and commit him. We will adjourn on August 28,” Dipate ordered. The case continues.