Nasha not bothered by Matambo suit
Bame Piet | Thursday March 13, 2014 18:03
I have done nothing wrong and I am not spending sleepless nights over this thing. What I can tell you is that I have a lot of trust in the judiciary of this country and I am confident they will handle the matter properly,” Nasha told Mmegi this week.
The lawsuit is before Justice Key Dingake. Efforts to get information about the case have hit a snag. “It is the applicants who should state why they are suing us,” said Nasha. “They should tell you what they are seeking – not us. We are just respondents and we still do not know what they want from us,” she said.
The Attorney General’s Chambers would not disclose what the case is about because of attorney–client confidentiality. The Registrar and Master of the High Court, Michael Motlhabi, would not talk much either, saying he was gagged by regulations. He said the matter is not for the public and after taking a news team through the darkened corridors of the High Court, due to power outage, he opened the High Court Rules Act. Matambo’s lawyer, Parks Tafa declined to shed light on the matter saying he was on leave. The case arose from a Parliamentary Special Select Committee appointed in December 2011 to investigate allegations of corruption at the ill-fated Palapye Fengyue Glass project which gobbled close to P500 million. The project has since collapsed and was placed under a liquidator last November.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the minister is not happy with some paragraphs in the report, which he feels are defamatory. Matambo is a nominated Member of Parliament.
The Leader of Opposition, Dumelang Saleshando acknowledged that every citizen has a right to approach the courts if he or she feels wronged. “However, I will be shocked if the court allows an application that challenges what was discussed in Parliament or its work. The statutes do not allow, but it is for the courts to decide,” he said. He confirmed that Nasha has briefed members on the lawsuit but did not give details.