Nkate's Integrity Put On The Line

GIDEON NKALA
Staff Writer | Monday April 19, 2010 00:00

 

Twice on Friday a suggestion was put to him that he is an untrustworthy witness who came to court with the whole aim of misleading court purely to help aid a friend - the late Louis Nchindo. He was characterised as someone who would tell a lie - falsity to use the language of the court - even under oath. Ironically, Nkate was assailed by the prosecutor, a lawyer who brought Nkate as a witness to court, a lawyer who was to protect him.

Tempers boiled over in court on this Friday. More than once Advocate Craig Webster was asked to sit down and shut up when he tried to rescue former Minister Nkate who was being assailed by a barrage of questions from Prosecutor Kgosietsile Ngakaagae.

Three times, Regional Magistrate Lot Moroka had to intervene to sedate the acidic exchanges between the prosecutor and the defence. While Ngakaagae wanted to pummel Nkate on the witness box, Advocate Webster tried to parry the blows and protect Nkate whose evidence the previous day had served the defence case than the prosecution and thus inviting an interjection from Magistrate Moroka who pointed out that ordinarily, it was supposed to be the duty of the prosecution to protect Nkate. At one point, perhaps in jest, Nkate had to ask for a glass of water to abate the pressure he was facing. 'Ntshiela metsi hoo motho ke yo o ntsentse ha le ha,' he said to a round of laughter from the audience in the public gallery.

This could have been said as an attempt to deflect attention but there was no doubt that the former minister was under tremendous pressure.

When he started, Ngakaagae made it clear at the outset that he was going to impeach his own witness. He went for Nkate's credibility.Ngakaagae: You would confirm that  prior to your appointment as minister, you had been a legal practitioner and that you had been a magistrate?

Nkate: Yes.

Ngakaagae: I trust that you will be privy to the importance of an oath?

Nkate: Yes, it is important.

Ngakaagae: When you wrote your statement that you gave the DCEC director, you were not under pressure?

Nkate: I was not under pressure.

Ngakaagae: This statement was written and signed by you?

Nkate: It is indeed my statement.

Ngakaagae: You can confirm that it was true and correct to the best of your knowledge?

Nkate: It was true and correct at the time when I wrote it.

Ngakaagae: You have earlier told court that Debswana had nothing to do with the land application that you allocated to TDC. But in your statement that you made to the DCEC director you said, 'The application in respect of which I received a recommendation and proceeded to make an allocation of 70 hectares was to my mind clearly an application by the consortium which I understood was a Debswana group. 'Your statement is inconsistent with what you told court?

Nkate: That would be so.

Ngakaagae: Both versions cannot be true?

Nkate: They cannot both be true but I can explain.

Ngakaagae: Don't worry; you will have all the time to explain.

Ngakaagae: You told a falsity under oath notwithstanding your legal background?

Nkate: I own up. I mixed up TDC application and Debswana application.

Ngakaagae: You changed your statement to mislead court?

Nkate: I have no reason to mislead court. I had no interest in the project.