Nchindo demise; what happens to his case?

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Friday February 12, 2010 00:00

This is a question that has occupied the minds of lot of people as they ponder what will happen to the marathon case that has been running for two years now.

The late Nchindo, his son Garvas and former Debswana employees, Joseph Matome and Jacob Sesinyi are facing 36 counts of corruption.

Explaining to Mmegi what happens to a case against an accused person who dies during the case, Law Society chairman Tebogo Sebego said that according to the law, “If he is late, then the case against him will be dropped.But for the co-accused they will still have to answer to charges against them,” he said.

Attorney Duma Boko concurs with Sebego that you cannot prosecute a dead man. “Under criminal proceedings that is the end of the matter against Nchindo.” The quartet’s legal bill is expected to be in the region of millions of Pula. They had high profile lawyers and had instructed senior counsels from South Africa, Eduard Fagan and Peter Hodes. At one court sitting there were in total seven lawyers who had come to defend Nchindo-during the time when DPP had wanted Nchindo’s lawyers Collins Newman attorneys to recuse themselves from the case.   Now that Nchindo, who is understood to have been footing the legal bill is late, it remains to be seen who will foot the steep legal bill. The other accused, such as his son Garvas Nchindo, Jacob Sesinyi and joe Matome were largely seen as collateral damage in a case that was largely aimed at the big fish.

The other big question that begs to be answered is what will become of the people who bought plots on the disputed land owned by Nchindo in Block 10, under Nchindo’s company known as Setlhoa, which was to develop a plush residential area modeled around some of the exclusive addresses in modern cities. Although Nchindo had been given the go ahead by the Attorney General to proceed with developments at the disputed plot it is believed that construction was taking too long to take off and he believed that he was sabotaged by powerful forces in government using illegal means. 

His death now means that as owner of the land in dispute, Nchindo will not be available to prosecute for his rights on the land. According to available information he financed this plot from his pocket and with his demise it might be difficult for anyone to pursue his case.    There is already talk that the plot owners are worried about what will happen to the plots they bought from Nchindo.

Efforts to seek comment from Nchindo’s co-accused drew a blank, as they were unavailable.Sesinyi’s mobile was off-air, whilst Matome’s phone rang unanswered.