Dipate’s busy court not getting any quieter
Spira Tlhankane | Monday September 21, 2026 06:00
Former Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Eric Molale is expected to appear before Dipate on October 9, joining a growing list of former senior government officials and politicians who have passed through this courtroom in high-profile criminal proceedings.
Over the years, the magistrate’s courtroom has become something of a crossroads for Botswana’s political establishment, from the presidency and Cabinet to the upper echelons of the public service and law enforcement.
The procession dates back at least to 2022, when former president Ian Khama, the late former Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) director-general Isaac Kgosi, former Police Commissioner Keabetswe Makgophe and ex-deputy Permanent Secretary, Bruno Paledi appeared before Dipate.
It was in the same courtroom that Dipate issued warrants of arrest against Khama after the former president was charged with 14 criminal counts, including unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and receiving stolen property.
Khama was not in court when the warrants were issued, but on September 13, 2024, he made a dramatic return to Dipate’s courtroom after spending about three years in self-imposed exile. Dipate subsequently temporarily granted Khama’s plea to set aside warrants of arrest issued against him on December 29, 2021 and July 12, 2023.
Khama’s appearance was only one chapter in what has since become a growing list of high-profile cases before Dipate.
The change of government in 2024 brought a new wave of political figures being dragged before the courts as the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) intensified prosecution of corruption-related cases involving former and current public figures.
Amongst the first prominent people to appear before court following the coming in of a new administration was former Minerals and Energy minister, Lefoko Moagi. Moagi appeared before Dipate on corruption and money-laundering charges.
In the dock, the former minister cut a markedly different figure from the one usually seen surrounded by aides and officials in the corridors of government. This time, there was no ministry entourage or official machinery around him.
Across the courtroom was simply the magistrate before whom he had to answer for the charges. Moagi did not walk into an ordinary case as he was facing a senior counsel, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae, whose appearance underscored the seriousness of the proceedings.
This all before Dipate immediately gave the matter the weight associated with the courtroom’s growing list of high-profile accused persons. Then came the revival of the National Petroleum Fund (NPF) corruption case earlier this year, this time with fresh charges against businessman Bakang Seretse.
Seretse and his co-accused appeared before Dipate as the infamous NPF saga returned to the criminal courts. The prosecution team was led by DCEC deputy director, Thabo Malambane, who had been delegated by the DPP to prosecute the matter after Ngakaagae indicated that he was conflicted because Seretse had previously been his client. Seretse and his co-accused face 63 charges, including two counts of stealing by agent, forgery of an official document, conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
Dipate’s courtroom became even more politically loaded recently with former Transport and Infrastructure minister, Noah Salakae appearing before the magistrate only days after resigning from Cabinet.
Salakae appeared alongside his co-accused, namely Seby Jose, Hugo Lemcke, Christiaan Lemcke, Kgakgamalo Ketshajwang and Mompati Sepego was not alone in the dock. Ketshajwang, a former Permanent Secretary, further extended the courtroom’s reach into the upper levels of government.
The ex-Transport and Infrastructure minister and others are facing charges including corruption, corrupting a public officer, abuse of office and money laundering. At the centre of the case is the awarding of the Ghanzi-New Xade road project, with prosecutors alleging that P1.6 million and a Toyota Fortuner were offered to Salakae.
During the proceedings, Ngakaagae indicated that more accused persons may be added to the charge sheet at the next mention. The courtroom had by then acquired another feature, which is supporters.
In the Salakae proceedings, as well as the latest Balopi arraignment, supporters filled the courtroom as the accused faced the machinery of the criminal justice system. Outside the courtroom, the cases have also spilled into the court of public opinion, where reputations, political loyalties and competing narratives are being fought over alongside the legal proceedings.
This week Balopi, who is the president of the former ruling party, found himself in Dipate’s dock. He became the latest senior political figure to pass through the magistrate’s courtroom. Balopi faces charges of fraud, money laundering and obtaining by false pretences.
Ngakaagae was not present in the prosecution bench for Balopi’s arraignment, but the symbolism of the appearance was difficult to miss. Balopi, a former Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, was now standing before a magistrate whose courtroom has become increasingly familiar with the country’s former power brokers.
Now Dipate’s diary is not getting any quieter as the DCEC this week confirmed that Molale will be next to appear in court. The former Transport and Infrastructure minister is expected to be added to the Salakae case when he appears before Dipate on October 9.
Molale is no ordinary name in the country’s public administration. Like several of those who have appeared before Dipate, he is a former legislator and Cabinet minister whose career placed him close to the centre of state power. His expected appearance therefore adds another layer to what is becoming a striking pattern of politicians and senior officials who continue to face charges. These figures once operated from offices of considerable authority, but now have to increasingly navigate the very different terrain of a criminal courtroom.
For Dipate, the names may change, the charges may differ and the political circumstances may shift but the courtroom remains the same. The parade of prominent names through Dipate’s courtroom is becoming difficult to ignore.
What began as a series of separate cases involving high-profile individuals has increasingly given the courtroom its own identity, a place where former holders of political and state power are being brought face-to-face with the criminal justice system. And if the DCEC’s latest move is anything to go by, Dipate’s court may be getting even busier.
It appears one’s status does not matter for Gaborone Regional Magistrate, Mareledi Dipate, whose court is handling high-profile cases. Of recent, Dipate’s courtroom has increasingly become a stage where some of Botswana’s most recognisable political and public figures find themselves in the dock. Writes Mmegi Staffer SPIRA TLHANKANE