Notorious Modenga In Hot Soup Yet Again
Pini Bothoko | Monday February 19, 2018 17:05
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor for Moselewapula ward in Francistown is currently a wanted man for another charge of obtaining by false pretence alleged to have been committed on October 13, 2017 in Gaborone.
Since 2015, Modenga has been making headlines with similar offences, something that is alleged to have caused his downfall from the lofty position of Deputy Mayor.
Detective assistant Superintendent Madziba Duna of Urban Police station confirmed to The Monitor that they were on the tail of Modenga for allegedly swindling one Oarabile Lesetedi of cash amounting to P104,000.
Lesetedi is a soldier stationed at Botswana Defence Force Village camp. Duna revealed that Modenga is alleged to have claimed to own a bus permit from Gaborone to Francistown and selling it.
“It is alleged that Modenga met with Lesetedi who had interest in buying the permit and told him that his name was Mpho, a name not his. He claimed to own a permit and was selling it for P65,000. It is alleged that he also defrauded Lesetedi of more money claiming that he could organise a bus on his behalf at Scania Botswana, hence suggesting that he could give him a total of P104,000.
“The balance remaining after the P65,000 purchase for the permit was for purchasing a bus on his behalf at Scania Botswana,” Duna said.
He stated that Modenga failed to honour his promise until Lesetedi reported the matter to the police on December 20, 2017 after unsuccessfully trying to locate him.
“We have arranged with Gerald Estate police to help us locate Modenga. That’s where he is alleged to be residing. He is also the area councillor,” Duna said.
In the past few years, Modenga has been in and out of courts until last Tuesday when the State withdrew the four charges of obtaining by false pretences that Modenga had been slapped with.
He walked out of Broadhurst Magistrate Court a free man after he was said to have managed to repay the people he allegedly defrauded.
The four counts were for offences of obtaining by false pretences which he committed between March 23, and May 8, 2017 at Phakalane in Gaborone.
Then, the court revealed that Modenga pretended to be an employee of the Department of Road, Transport and Safety (DRTS) in order to obtain P1,400 from one Talent Chepanda claiming that his vehicle had defects.
On the second count, he defrauded the same Talent Chepanda of another P1,400 claiming that his truck had defects.
On the third count, it was alleged that on May 18, 2017 still in Gaborone, Modenga obtained money amounting to P1,350 from Mmoniemang Motsamai pretending to be an employee of the DRTS and claiming that he was going to book a road test for her son knowing that it was not true.
In the fourth count, he was accused of defrauding the same Motsamai of clothes worth P6,800 on May 18, 2017 pretending that he was going to sell them on her behalf to his colleagues.
In 2016, when he was dragged before the Francistown Small Claims court for non-payment of P3,500 for goats he took from Tebalo Mpona in 2015, court papers showed that the controversial councillor’s take-home salary was P200 after all deductions and other debts had been paid.