Trial date set for suspected CMS mastermind

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Monday December 6, 2010 00:00

 

Before Barnabas Nyamadzabo, the Gaborone chief magistrate,  Lokwae and state counsel, Merapelo Mokgosi confirmed December 13-17 as the trial dates. Lokwae was initially charged with 11 other men but he disappeared before he could be tried. During the two years he was on the run the case against the other suspects continued and is nearing completion. When Lokwae surrendered to the police, early this year, he was charged with two counts of fraud involving a sum of P7,269,429.80. 

The state alleged that Lokwae and others, not before court, defrauded the government of Botswana the sum of P3,797,300.42 as payment for pharmaceutical drugs that were never delivered by Mogoaduba Holdings.  On another count, the suspect, together with others not before court are alleged to have defrauded the government by claiming that they sold and delivered drugs worth P3,472,129.40.

Lokwae has pleaded with the court to order certain local banks to release information about one of the state witnesses so that he can effectively conduct his own defence. Lokwae said the information at Barclays Bank is about Kagiso Kobe's application for a Manchester Credit card. At Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic Bank, Lokwae requested copies of Kobe's application to open a personal account.

Asked how the documents would help him in his defence, he said that his interaction with Kobe were through bank cards - Manchester Credit card from Barclays and visa debit cards from Standard Chartered and Stanbic banks. 'I know him (Kobe) by those names and the meeting I had with him was through those cards which will be revealed in detail during trial,' Lokwae said.

Mokgosi, for the state did not oppose Lokwae's application but requested that he furnish the state with the said documents. At the end of submissions, Nyamadzabo made an order compelling the mentioned banks to furnish Lokwae with the documents. The magistrate ordered that Lokwae avail the documents to the state before the commencement of trial.

In the meantime, the outgoing regional magistrate Lot Moroka is expected to decide the fate of eight men involved in the P21 million CMS case. The case is expected to be completed in few days time. Initially the case involved 11 men: Jabulani Johnson (33); Norman Maja (48), a driver at CMS; Aaron Babolele (29), a senior administration officer at CMS; Lebogang Kaisara (31), a storekeeper at CMS; David Tumagole (37); Patrick Cole (36), a director of a company based in South Africa called USASA; Clement Molefe (35), a site manager at USASA; Otsile Mosarwe (29); and Jenamo Mfana (35), a director of a refrigeration company; and Abram Marumo. They collectively face four counts of obtaining by false pretences. However, trio of Johnson, Mosarwa, and Mfana were acquitted and discharged as Moroka found that evidence induced by the state did not link them with the alleged crime.