The NPF and other tales
Kabo Ramasia | Monday September 1, 2025 06:00
The name Kgosi Ngakaagae is not strange to Botswana politics. Although not a politician himself, the “celebrity lawyer” as often dubbed by his social media fanatics has seen it all.
Ngakaagae has stood at the heart of a nation’s history as it unfolded. From rising through the ranks to serving as State prosecutor in the widely-publicised late Louis Nchindo corruption case, to cementing a legacy as a go to attorney in town, the man surely has a story to tell.
After quitting as a state lawyer, he would go on to establish Ngakaagae & Company law firm where over the years he would maintain a good reputation as a lethal attorney with a knack for court victory. He won more cases and like any other lawyer, had his fair share of losses albeit few.
However, in or around 2017 Ngakaagae would be instructed in the infamous National Petroleum Fund (NPF) marathon case.
The case engaged the who’s who of Botswana’s political elite and centred around the alleged looting of P230 million. In the case, the State alleged that the funds have been misappropriated from the NPF Fund in a greater scheme of self-enrichment entailing high-ranking government officials, politicians, Judges, the erstwhile Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) head honcho and businessmen.
The case came to be known as the “Bakang Seretse case” as reported in the media. Nonetheless, despite the charges against the accused and the State pressing on for years, it never went to trial and charges for most of the accused would be quashed before the courts.
The DPP then had assembled a team that had the likes of Wesson Manchwe, Pascal Mhandu and Ambrose Mubika who initially handled the matter.
Fortunately, or unfortunately for me it coincided with my arrival in the newsroom and my then editor, Tshireletso Motlogelwa, would throw me in the deep assigning the case to me despite being the cub reporter I then was.
This would mark a series of court interactions with one of the nation’s well-groomed defence attorneys, Ngakaagae, who again stood out to be the difference between his clients being harassed by the State and according to them their much-needed justice.
For us reporters, we had to be up to speed with the events as at that time a lot was happening. At times, it was ideal to be ahead of time with the news of who was next to be charged as it seemed the dragnet was catching the entire political heavyweights.
From court rooms filled with DIS agents, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the much curious public, the nation had never witnessed such a spectacle before. The NPF was the beginning of what would characterise our politics later as the years progressed.
Meanwhile, inside court Ngakaagae never spared a moment to unleash his brutality on the State for what he called “a politically motivated case” against his client.
Initially, he accused the DCEC of being a toothless dog that came after his clients whilst fearing political heavy weights.
Apart from Ngakaagae, another veteran criminal lawyer Unoda Mack of Mack Bahuma Attorneys was lurking in the background and would chip in every now and then.
Mack was representing other clients who were equally accused of money laundering and racketeering in the same matter.
Throughout the court sessions, Ngakaagae demonstrated sheer brilliance relying on his legal acumen to convince the courts to grant the accused bail while pending the committal of the matter for trial.
Further, part of the strategy applied was to stall the case through civil litigation which got some charges quashed before the courts fully exonerated all accused persons.
Despite stalling for years, the case never went for trial with Ngakaagae at the heart of the defence team having technically won hands down. At some point, the DPP enlisted the services of Advocate Shaun Abrahams from South Africa but that made little impact.
Whilst the status of the case remains unclear now, at a Colloquium for Judicial Officers on Combating Money Laundering organised by the University of Botswana, the then DPP Director now High Court Judge Nomsa Moatswi stated that the case was before the courts awaiting dates.
Equally, the former DPP Assistant Director and DCEC Director General in the Counter-Terrorism and Fusion Agency Advocate Ernest Mosate stated that the DPP had prima facie evidence to push for a successful prosecution.
Mosate noted that investigators had deduced evidence and called for the case to be revisited.
Consequently, in its dormant state, Ngakaagae emerged as the biggest winner, proving to be a spirited fighter against the State with all its might at its disposal and secured a reprieve for his clients.
Looking back in retrospect, one can be tempted to say that the NPF was a moment in a nation’s history never to be forgotten. Whether it was mere political persecution or indeed the funds had been fleeced, only that history will tell. However, the nation still awaits the outcome of the judicial probe.
But for Ngakaagae, the tide has turned. Now at the DPP, he will be expected to lead men and women of the law as they seek justice for the government.
With his appointment, the nation is hoping that finally someone with the tenacity to lead prosecution is finally taking over. Even so, regarding the NPF, it remains to be seen how it will unfold now under the same lawyer who fought hard against the state. As they say, time will tell.
As the news of the celebrity lawyer reverberates on social media my former editor would be proud. It had been a decade of writing about the NPF and the man who stood at the centre of it to ensure justice for the accused.
For us journalists, it was a period marked by fear, uncertainty and a repressive regime where one could be jailed for writing about these things. Finally, the era has come and gone but only the might of the scribing pen stayed.