'Miss Botswana' fraud case for October

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Thursday September 4, 2008 00:00

 

Three Kingdom Bank employees gave their written evidence for admission. Anderson is accused of defrauding Kingdom Bank by obtaining credit of over P523,000 in 2007.  

The credit was obtained under the pretext that the money would be used to purchase stock for different shops in Botswana. Applying for credit at the Kingdom Bank, she is said to have knowingly and fraudulently uttered false documents for purchasing orders for different retail shops in Gaborone, among them Eureka Retail Shop and Spar Supermarket.

The defence attorney, Joao Salbany, told the court that they entered into negotiation with the Prosecutors and admitted the said statements. They admitted statements from the Treasurer Consultant, David Mbimba, dated 12 July 2007, Treasurer Assistant, Nametso Rapula, dated 9 July 2007 and a trainee graduate, Oitsile Koketso, dated 1 August, 2007 all employees of Kingdom Bank. Salbany did not admit the sentence in Koketso's statement which read: '...some documents were forged', urging that it is the role of the court to draw the conclusion that indeed those documents were forged.
He told the court that they did not contest the facts of the statement but only the sentence as it sounded like an opinion rather than position on the law.
The prosecutor from Botswana Police Services, Supt. Jafili Mpundisi did not oppose Salbany's contention.

Mpundisi told the court that they could not continue with the trial as the remaining three witnesses were not present in court. He told the court that a Eureka employee was present in court the previous day but could not make it to court because he was outside the country, returning on Wednesday.

'A witness from Spar is travelling around the country and the investigating officer is on compassionate leave so they could not be in court,' Mpundisi said. The case was postponed to 20 and 21 October, 2008, when it is expected that the remaining witnesses will take the stand.

Nehemiah Moguni is the presiding magistrate.