The Fortuner that drove into the charge sheet
Spira Tlhankane | Friday August 21, 2026 11:32
The stylish SUV is highly celebrated for its exceptional reliability and rugged terrain capability and it is the sort of a vehicle that can glide through Gaborone traffic in the morning, and by afternoon it can disappear down a dusty road. It moves with flawless elegance from the elegant plazas of the capital's government enclave, but sometimes its true soul awakens where the tar road fades, and the pale dust of the Kalahari begins. A Toyota Fortuner is a vehicle associated with comfort and status, and it is a machine that, at a price tag of over half a million pula, it is beyond the reach of many ordinary folks.
But, one particular Fortuner with a registration number B 715 BSW has taken an extraordinary journey and is valued at P575, 0000. This Fortuner has driven into the heart of a corruption case involving Member of Parliament for Ghanzi Noah Salakae, a P1.535 billion government road contract and allegations of a web of benefits allegedly flowing from a construction company to the former minister. Salakae, who is the 5th accused person in the matter, and six others are set to appear in court next Friday, and their charge sheet gives the Fortuner a much bigger role than merely being an expensive vehicle allegedly received by a public official. According to count two of the charges, the MP is accused of corruptly using his position as Minister of Transport and Infrastructure to obtain valuable consideration for himself from Tau Grading and Building Construction (Pty) Ltd. The State alleges that the consideration included P1.6 million, the Toyota Fortuner 2.8 valued at P575, 000 and the provision of bush-clearing services.
In return, according to the charge sheet, Salakae is accused of corruptly using his position to influence and ensure the signing of a government contract worth P1. 5 billion in favour of Tau Grading and Building Construction. The P575, 000 SUV Fortuner has become one of the most vivid objects in a case about public power, procurement and alleged private benefit. On August 28, when Salakae and his co-accused appear before court, the vehicle will be part of a story that moves from the pages of a charge sheet into the courtroom. The charge sheet offers considerably more detail than the initial allegations according to count two. “Salake, in his capacity as the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, hence a public officer, corruptly used his position as minister aforesaid, to obtain valuable consideration for himself from Tau Grading and Building Construction (Pty) Ltd, to wit: P1.6 million, a Toyota Fortuner 2.8 registered B 715 BSW, valued at P575, 000 and provision of bush clearing services,” reads the charge sheet.
“In turn the accused person corruptly used his same position to influence and to ensure the signing of a government contract worth P1,535,503,969.39 in favour of the said Tau Grading and Building Construction (Pty) Ltd for which he was rewarded with the said amount of P1.6 million which amount was used to purchase for himself, Portions 3 and 4 of Farm No 50-K located at Ghanzi, a Toyota Fortuner 2.8 bearing registration number B 715 BSW valued at P575 000.00; bush clearing services at the accused person's in laws' farm located at Karakubis, and also at Ghanzi Trail Blazers, a bush lodge leased by him.” The alleged benefits, according to prosecutors, were not confined to an anonymous financial transaction but allegedly touched land, a vehicle and services at places connected to Salakae and his family. For now, they remain allegations contained in the charge sheet, and Salakae is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
But besides the luxurious Toyota Fortuner, the particulars reveal why investigators appear to have built the case around more than one alleged benefit. There is something almost cinematic about the Fortuner's role in the case because a machine built to traverse the country's roads now sits in the narrative of a road construction scandal. But, on August 28, the symbolism will give way to law, with prosecution aiming to prove its allegations while the defence will have the opportunity to challenge them.