Judges to sue gov't
Oarabile Mosikare | Friday March 13, 2020 16:12
The latest development arises from a controversy that engulfed the Judiciary five years ago. In September 2015, the then President Ian Khama suspended four Judges Professor Key Dingake, Modiri Letsididi, Mercy Garekwe and Ranier Busang for alleged misconduct after it was found that they were paid undue housing allowances. Following that, a tribunal was later appointed to investigate their conduct.
The quartet had been at loggerheads with the then Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo, who had reported them to the Botswana Police Service for a probe for earning housing allowances despite being accommodated in government houses.
The Tribunal to investigate the conduct of the four Judges was appointed and disbanded in March 2017 after the quartet withdrew the petition against the Government and repay the erroneously paid housing allowance.
It seems now the Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe wants to open the old wounds. Mmegi is reliably informed that he is unhappy after over two years that the amount taxed is far too low.
“He is imputing impropriety on the part of the four Judges,” a JSC source disclosed. It is understood that Keetshabe and Court of Appeal Judge President Ian Kirby managed to out-vote other members of the JSC to carry out a tax investigation.
A letter dated March 9, 2020 addressed to one of the attorneys who was involved in the case has substantiated this. The JSC has tasked senior attorney, Neil Armstrong to look closely into how taxation in the Dingake and others versus Attorney General and Others was processed.
“Mr Armstrong is expected to come-up with a report of his findings, at the end of this exercise. The above exercise entails interviewing some of the officers, who were involved in the taxation.
You are one of the officers he wishes to interview, and I have given him your contact details so that you can both arrange for an interview,” Michael Motlhabi, the Registrar and Master of the High Court wrote to one of the attorneys.
Motlhabi also doubles as the JSC secretary. Meanwhile Dingake is a Judge of the National and Supreme Court in the Papua New Guinea since March 2018. The source said the Attorney General
should have sought a judicial review within the six months after the decision but it did not.
It is said that the Registrar, Chipo Gaobatlwe who conducted the taxation has been put on notice about the matter.
“The Attorney General wanted P2 million, but the Judges offered P150, 000 which he rejected and instead of coming for the taxation he sent a junior officer. The Judges sat down and self-taxed and agreed on P43, 000 which after the Registrar confirmed, they then paid,” the source explained.
The sources also said the JSC stunt is calculated to cause financial embarrassment to the concerned Judges so that they are liquidated and brought back before a judicial tribunal for expulsion.
“They have long paid what was agreed and made an order by the taxing master. All this is nonsense as far as the case is concerned particularly as the time to seek a review has long, long past and the Attorney General knows it. This is a backdoor to opening a case long settled,” added the source.
The anxious Judges have not been contacted though it is said that they intend to sue once they Armstrong officially approaches them.