AG consents to judgment over defamatory allegations against Khama
Larona Makhaiza | Wednesday August 26, 2026 06:00
The State’s consent effectively paves the way for judgment in Khama’s favour over statements he says were defamatory and damaging to his reputation.
Khama is suing the Attorney General, Jako Hubona, the Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), with the former president seeking damages for defamation of character.
Previously, Mmegi had reported that Khama is seeking P30 million in damages for soiling his name in his 208-page report against Hubona, the lead investigator in the P100 billion case.
The case stems from an affidavit deposed by Hubona for the State in proceedings against former intelligence officer Welheminah Mphoeng Maswabi, popularly known as 'Butterfly'.
In the affidavit, Hubona made allegations against Khama, including claims that the former president had arranged for the opening of 'Special Unit Accounts' at the Bank of Botswana (BoB) from which large sums of money allegedly flowed to international financial institutions.
Khama has vehemently disputed the allegations and, in a 208-page report, accused Hubona of cooking the facts and twisting issues in an attempt to nail him.
Khama’s case relies heavily on a 2020 independent review by Alaco Limited and Omnia Strategy LLP, which examined Hubona’s affidavit and its supporting documents.
The investigators concluded that substantial portions of the affidavit were fabricated.
“It is our expert opinion that, whilst the affidavit is authentic, a substantial amount of the content is a fabrication, with glaring inaccuracies and falsehoods,” read the report.
The report further questioned the credibility of the allegations against Khama, pointing to inconsistencies in account numbers, transaction values, email addresses, names and other information.
It also cited then Bank of Botswana governor Moses Pelaelo’s reported statement to Parliament in November 2019 that no funds had been transferred out of the central bank as alleged and that the bank had never held P100 billion in its account.
But despite the explosive nature of the allegations, the latest development in court has been a concession by the Attorney General to Khama’s draft judgment.
Appearing before the High Court today (Monday), Khama’s lawyers, Ramalepa Attorneys, said the defence had consented to the judgment as far as August 21.
“Besides that, we do consent to this draft judgment by the court and be allowed in the court,” they said.
The lawyers representing the Attorney General confirmed the consent to the judgment. The judge then questioned whether the other defendants, including the DCEC, were also consenting to the order. The lawyers for the aforementioned defendants indicated that he had understood the matter to be proceeding by consent.
The judge directed that the order be corrected before accepting it.
“Now we are correcting the order, and it should read well,” the judge said.
The court then accepted the judgment.
“The draft judgement is hereby accepted,” the judge ruled.
The consent by the Attorney General marks a significant turn in the long-running dispute, with Khama now moving closer to obtaining a court-sanctioned outcome over allegations he says smeared his reputation and portrayed him as being at the centre of a P100 billion financial scandal.
With the judgement now consented to, both parties are now expected to assess the damages owed to former president Khama to finally put the matter to rest.