High Court vindicates law firm in BOT50 scandal
Mpho Mokwape | Friday January 19, 2018 17:03
The law firm, D.M. Mthimkhulu Attorneys that was suing for being embroiled in the BOT50 money saga has been awarded damages in a case in which it deemed defamatory.
The lawsuit emanated from a letter of demand to Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), chief executive officer (CEO), Falcon Sedimo for allegedly uttering to the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies that the law firm was paid P1 million and P60,000 from the BOT50 tickets.
Sedimo together with the BNSC were accused of flouting the penal laws by giving false information to public officers and in the process uttering defamatory words.
The CEO and his finance manager, Kabelo Mmono had appeared before the committee chaired by Tati East legislator, Samson Moyo Guma as accounting officers for their organisation where they were grilled over the awarding of tenders to other companies that were engaged in the BOT50 jubilee celebrations.
Following Sedimo’s denial in a response letter for such utterances to the accounts committee, the law firm filed a suit against The Patriot on Sunday that was alleged to have picked up the story it widely published without verifying any facts with the law firm.
Judge Mercy Garekwe last year granted the law firm damages in the sum of the money to be determined upon assessment.
Garekwe said the court had exercised its discretion following the publication’s failure to file papers on time.
“Had an application for extension of time been placed before court, different considerations would have been used to arrive at the appropriate decision,” she said.
The judge said the defendants were aware of the requirements, but still failed to meet them and found no need to file the application to be condoned, out of time, or apply for extension.
The defendants in their defence stated that they were not in willful disregard of the court’s timeliness as they intended to apply for extension.
Also that the delay was due to consultations they needed for further defence of the truth and for the public.
“For this defence we needed access to a small section of the minutes of the parliamentary committee and upon failure we wrote to the speaker of the National Assembly explaining the predicament,” read the judgement.
Meanwhile, the law firm’s instruction against the Patriot newspaper was seeking money in damages for accusing its client of being a fraudster.
In a letter that was addressed to the editor dated January 18, 2017, the law firm alleged that the newspaper painted their client as a dishonest person without affording him the opportunity to comment, reply and state his views on the matter.
The newspaper was alleged to have said D.M. Attorneys received money not entitled to it through its owner as a result of him merely being a Botswana Democratic Party member after leaving the Botswana National Front.
“The article has caused extensive damage to the client’s good name and reputation, which article was published without affording him an opportunity to comment,” reads the letter.