Nkate not to be trusted, State argues

TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Staff Writer | Tuesday August 17, 2010 00:00

 

Former Minister of Local Government Lands and Housing, Jacob Nkate is the type of character capable of openly contradicting a sworn statement he made of his own free will even before a full court - this is the picture that the prosecution sought to paint yesterday as the Nchindo corruption reaches its final stage. Nkate's credibility was put to question by the prosecution when the Directorate of Public Prosecution's Senior Prosecutor Matshwenyego Phuthego cross examined Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime former head Tymon Katlholo. Nkate who was supposed to have been one of the major prosecution witnesses dumped them in October when he openly contradicted a sworn statement he had given to Katlholo indicating that when he allocated TDC a plot he had been under the impression that the company was a vehicle of Debswana's tourism drive and not the private business of the late Louis Nchindo.

Katlholo, led by Phuthego said he asked Nkate to consider documents submitted to him relating to the application for the controversial plot, company registration documents and others and draw from them, a perspective on the procedure of allocation of the plot to TDC and to relate the procedure to be followed for the allocation. 

In his subsequent statement Nkate said that he had allocated the 70 hectares of land to the Tourism Development Consortium under the impression that TDC was indeed a Debswana company. However he was to later contradict this statement in court in October last year, disappointing the prosecution. Nkate said he based his decision, to approve the allocation, on the recommendations made to him by his officers and that he too exercised his mind. When asked if he would have approved the allocation if he had known that the TDC at the time of the application was not an incorporated company he answered in the negative.

Yesterday Phuthego therefore sought to prove that Nkate exercised his free will in making the original statement.

Katlholo - The following day he called me on the telephone to inform me that my statement was ready?

Puthego - He did not write the statement in your presence?

Katlholo - No he did it alone. I went to his office at the Ministry. He gave me the statement which I read slowly in my head. I was satisfied with the statement. I read the statement back to him loudly. He confirmed the contents of the statement. I then administered an oath

Phuthego - Did he sign the statement?

Katlholo - Yes he did

Phuthego - Did you influence Nkate to write the statement

Katlholo - Not at all

Phuthego - Did you exert any pressure on Nkate to write the statement?

Katlholo - Not at all

Phuthego - Did you append your signature to the statement?

Katlholo - Yes I did

Phuthego - Please have a look at this document (Phuthego hands Nkate's statement to Katlholo)

Katlholo - I agree that it is my signature and my handwriting

Phuthego - Can you show the court your signature

Katlholo - This is my signature (Katlholo says pointing at his signature on the document and showing the court)

Phuthego - Mr Nkate's signature. Where does it appear?

Katlholo - Here

Katlholo said Nkate's conclusions in his original statement tallied with his own suspicions that the land had been allocated corruptly.

In his other submissions Katlholo explained how he interviewed both former President Festus Mogae and Louis Nchindo on the issue of TDC's interests in the land and the subsequent assistance granted to the company by government.

It emerged further that Nchindo's lawyers Parks Tafa and Lawrence Khupe of Collins and Newman declined to give witness statements to the DCEC during investigations. Katlholo said although he wrote to the two requesting their statements, he did not get any formal written reply, except a call from Tafa who told him that he could not help because of lawyer-client privilege since he was also Nchindo's lawyer. 'I respected his view, even though I did not entirely agree with him,' quipped Katlholo.Earlier in the day Information Technology systems analyst and former Debswana employee, Paul Ashley Conlon, under cross-examination explained how as a systems analyst at Debswana headquarters he assisted the DCEC investigation. He was called upon to confirm the authenticity of some documents that were allegedly found in Joe Matome's computer at the mining company office, relating to the tender for the plot.

The prosecution seeks to put Matome as the author and editor of the document. Under cross examination by Kgosietsile Ngakaagae of the DPP, the expert indicated that the document could be tracked down to Matome's computer and his access point in the IT network. However the defence led by senior counsel Craig Webster argued that the IT system is not fool proof and there was a possibility of other individuals having access to the same documents and tampering with them the way it was purportedly done by Matome.  Meanwhile the case will proceed tomorrow when the prosecution will call in expert witnesses.  Ngakaagae and Phutego led the prosecution while the defence consisted of Webster, Paul Farlan and Khupe of Collins and Newman.