Judges consider petition against Dibotelo closed
Oarabile Mosikare | Wednesday September 13, 2017 16:37
Recently, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary, Michael Motlhabi wrote to the quartet to show cause why the petition which they endorsed and that which allegedly undermined the authority of Dibotelo should not be referred to President Ian Khama. They were given until September 15, 2017 to apologise.
In their individual letters to Motlhabi, Justices Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe, Lot Moroka, Godfrey Nthomiwa and Tshepo Motswagole were unequivocal that the matter was overtaken by events and it is a closed chapter. In his letter dated August 8, 2017 Motswagole wrote: “Thank you for your letter dated 30 May 2017, that I must admit, came as a surprise, given not only the lapse of the time from the date of the petition under reference, but also just as the dust of this protracted dispute was about to settle”.
He also said there cannot be a dispute that the Administration of Justice needs immediate peace and reconciliation given the publicity the events of the past attracted. “There is a clear case for the public interest to prevail over the personal interest. That is what guided me when I let go of my intended litigation to protect my name in 2014, and I am convinced it should be likewise today. In my opinion, this issue must be assumed to be water under the bridge given the lapse of the time involved, the settlement reached with other Judges and the imminent retirement of the Chief Justice. I can therefore state categorically that I have no further interest in the petition.”
Another Judge, Nthomiwa wrote on June 9, 2017 that the JSC did not deal with the issues at that point and has not said what it was going to do about it. He also disclosed that he has been participating in all the events of the JSC and has never complained about anything thereafter. “This is because I had accepted that the JSC was not interested in the concerns raised and it was not going to do anything about it… in view of the above therefore, I am of the view that this matter must be closed and the JSC will accordingly consider it that way.”
For his part Moroka wrote: “It is a tragedy that what was a legitimate was for some strange reason characterised as disrespect and in the process delegitimised. In its wisdom, the Judicial Service Commission, elected not to deal with the matter. Two years have since passed and in my view, your enquiry is too tears too late”.
He continued that the petition and its contents were dealt with by President Ian Khama who in his wisdom, while acknowledging that the petition was signed by 12 Judges, elected to confine the exercise of his powers to only four Judges. He added that as far he was concerned, the matter was closed.
“More significantly, it is my considered view that it is in the national interest that the Judiciary must be allowed to heal and regain public confidence; and there is nothing to be gained by pursuing this matter any further. I hope the JSC would take the same position and allow this matter to rest.”
Justice Ketlogetswe also declined to apologise.
“My answer to your enquiry therefore is that because of the length of time it has taken for the JSC to invite me for my input on the matter, I reasonably believed, which I still do, that the JSC has declined to hear us; or that it has dealt with the matter by referring it to His Excellency the President (in the manner referred to above); both of which positions, singularly or collectively, I have accepted and decided to live with. This explains why I have not troubled the JSC by way of seeking response to, or any further action on the letter of 17 August 2015,” Ketlogetswe wrote.
On the issue of the affidavit he deposed to, he said it is against known legal traditions and practice that a witness can be called upon to account, in an extra-judicial process, for the evidence before Court. Besides, he said, the judicial proceedings in that matter have been amicably settled by the parties thereto in the manner they saw fit. “In conclusion therefore, my view is that because of the passage of time and in the interest of allowing the matter to rest, may it please the JSC to consider the matter closed,” Ketlogetswe wrote on June 9, 2017.