DIS surrenders Sebina brothers properties
Staff Writer | Friday February 21, 2020 16:31
The DIS was complying with principal magistrate, Batho Kgerethwa who had ordered the Peter Magosi-led agency that the warrant of entry, search and seizure as against applicants be rescinded.
She also ruled that Magosi is ordered to return all documents and properties seized from the Sebina brothers’ business premises pursuant to the order of the February 13, 2019 with immediate effect.
The search and seizure warrant was related to Tshepho Tile Products, TTP, Asphalt Botswana, Estate Construction and Estate Property Investments that are owned by Kegone and Tshepho Sebina.
Supporting the application in court a year ago, Magosi made it clear that the investigations then being carried out were directed against all those suspected to be associated with Isaac Kgosi, the former DIS boss.
In her 17-page ruling, Kgerethwa said Magosi has not divulged any information which could assist the court to indicate the link of the documents and other properties seized, with the offences of threat to national security or any other offence in the Act.
“On the face of it, the respondent should have put the Court in confidence and divulged information even if not all of it, on the link with documents seized, to threat to national security or toppling the government, “ she said.
She added that Magosi did not even state how applicants are linked to the Court order when their names are not expressly stated in it.
“The warrant for search and seizure did not indicate that the Director General should approach any bank used by the applicants for any purpose whatsoever.
Anything that is done by the respondent outside the mandate of the Court, unless if the respondent has obtained another order to flag or freeze any of the accounts belonging to any of the applicants. It is at this stage, that the applicants are now seeking protection of the Court.”
She said the person who was supposed to shed light to the Court is silent on what transpired during the search and seizure and the progress made so far.
“The respondent has not even filed an inventory to that effect to indicate to the Court what they seized and whether it relates to the alleged offence of threat to national security. It is trite that evidence obtained by the respondent must be relevant to the offence being investigated,” Kgerethwa ruled.
Yesterday, Magosi assembled a new team within the DIS to investigate all the tenders won by the Sebina brothers and look for anything criminal against them in all police stations, Mmegi learnt during the time when the agents were returning the property seized to the owners.
“Apparently Magosi is unhappy with the courts ruling and he is on a witch-hunt against the Sebina brothers,” one of the agents alleged.