Seretse�s Property, Accounts Still Frozen
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday January 15, 2018 17:29
Seretse, Botho Leburu and Kenneth Kerekang are facing money-laundering charges before the Regional Magistrate’s Court. Radijeng made an urgent application to contest what Seretse’s attorney, Kgosiitsile Ngakaagae had branded “a stolen restraining order granted by Justice Radijeng early December”.
This was after the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was granted an order to have Seretse’s properties and credit account balances placed under restraint and therefore not be disposed of.
In a dramatic submission during the hearing in December, Ngakaagae told Radijeng that no fraudulent intention could be sustained in a criminal case against his client.
He said the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) asked for funding from the National Petroleum Fund to build strategic fuel storages across the country. The P250 million was approved by the Department of Energy.
Ngakaagae said there is a correspondence from the DIS director, Isaac Kgosi instructing Kerekang, a director at the Department of Energy, to release funds to Khulaco (Pty) Ltd.
“Kerekang has been made a fall guy in this matter. This is a fallacy and I will demonstrate why. Later Kgosi says procurement of petroleum facilities is no longer a priority. He speaks of wildlife poaching, human and drug trafficking. Kerekang is simply a lower director than a permanent secretary. Variation is approved by the permanent secretary,” Ngakaagae submitted.
He added it was ministerial head, Dr Obolokile Obakeng, who approved the variation. “Obakeng has not been charged with a crime. Kgosi is also not charged with a crime.
Dramatis personaes in this matter are missing. Either they fear Kgosi which is obvious or they are simply trying to conjure a case over nothing.” “After all these going-ons some money was wired to Israel,” he submitted.
He added that this was not Kerekang’s job, but a ministerial job. “The DPP cannot run away from that reality. Any money-laundering must start with the source. The paper trail speaks of how the money was sourced.” If the money was not properly sourced, he submitted, Kgosi and Kerekang would be in jail.
He added: “Kgosi can launder P118 million and still get praises from the DPP and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC). They say he is a villain of malicious gossip by the respondent. He has been cleared and he is now returning the favour”.
He said they say his client Seretse might have committed a crime of obtaining by false pretenses a sum of P42 million. Ngakaagae charged that DCEC lacks integrity, asking: “Where is the affidavit denying that there is no government project and the funds were inappropriately released? Seretse is just a fund manager. No fraudulent intention can be sustained in this case”.
Delivering his ruling on Friday, Radijeng confirmed the December 13 judgement and ordered that Seretse pays the costs of the application.