New assistant AG faces fraud charges

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Tuesday September 21, 2010 00:00

It is alleged he defrauded the bank at the time he resigned from the University of Botswana (UB) in 2007.

The case originated from a loan he acquired from Barclays Bank, through a UB Loan Guarantee Scheme to pay for a Mercedes Benz valued at P130,000.

When Radipati resigned, UB used his benefits to clear the outstanding loan amount. It is alleged that in December 18, 2007, UB issued a cheque of P107,682.39 to settle the loan. But Radipati allegedly channelled the money into his personal account. 'On December 19,  2007, the defendant (Radipati) negotiated the said cheque and deposited it into his personal account with plaintiff (Barclays Bank). The said deposit was unlawful and wrongful in that the defendant has no claim on the said cheque,' says a writ of summons to RadipatiThe case goes for trial before Justice Lakhvinder Singh Walia of the Lobatse High Court early next month.

Recently, there was an outcry from the public over the appointment of Justice Michael Mothobi to the High Court.

There are still unanswered questions over his credibility, with some calling for him to clear his name first.

There are allegations that Mothobi resigned when still facing disciplinary action at UB over failure to mark students' scripts. He has dismissed allegations against him as absolute nonsense.