Kanjabangas fraud case to resume

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Friday February 17, 2012 00:00

 

The case comes after the Court of Appeal dismissed Kanjabanga’s constitutional appeal that he launched relating to the charge. It now means the case that has been pending before the magistrate’s court for close to four years will now resume.

In 2008, Kanjabanga, together with Boitshwarelo Moreeng, were brought before a Gaborone magistrate on allegations that they had defrauded the Southern District Council of over P399,000.  The charges against Kanjabanga included one of theft, one of forgery, one of obtaining by false pretences and 10 of money laundering.  At the commencement of trial at the magistrate’s court, Kanjabanga applied for a postponement in order to launch a constitutional application at the High Court.

The matter was then referred to the Francistown High Court where Kanjabanga applied to have the matter permanently stayed, arguing that he was not tried within reasonable time.

However, in May last year, Francistown High Court judge Mpaphi Phumaphi dismissed the case on the grounds that it was complex and the time the Prosecution had taken to bring Kanjabanga to court did not amount to an infringement of his constitutional rights.

Aggrieved by Phumaphi’s decision, Kanjabanga then approached the Court of Appeal (COA), arguing that Justice Phumaphi had erred in dismissing him. However, CoA justices, Judge President Ian Kirby, Lord Alistair Abernethy, Craig Foxcroft, Elijah Legwaila and Steven Gaongalelwe, upheld Justice Phumaphi’s decision.

The appeals court dismissed Kanjabanga’s claim that he was only brought to trial five years after being initially charged.  “The delay in bringing the appellant to trial after he was charged with the offences in question was not five years, as he repeatedly (and wrongly) claimed in his affidavit; nor was it three years as found by judge Phumaphi,” the judges said.

They added that it was not even the one and half years as it was first wrongly conceded by the state, “even in 2006 a final decision to charge him had not been taken.”

Infact, the judges found that it was only on January 14, 2008 that Kanjabanga was charged and brought to trial on January 23, 2008. “This is in no way an unreasonable time and gives no reason for concern at all,” the judges found.

The charges against Kanjabanga are that on the first count, he and Moreeng allegedly stole a cheque of P399,500 belonging to the Southern District Council (SDC) in January 2004.

On the second count, Kanjabanga is accused of forgery arising from his claim that his law firm was being paid P399, 500.90 by SDC on the 8th of the same month. He is also accused of obtaining money by false pretences amid allegations that he defrauded the Lobatse Barclays branch by claiming P399,500.90 on February 23, 2004 for his law firm.

In addition, 10 counts of money laundering have been laid against Kanjabanga. Together with the third accused, Gaabopiwe, the two are alleged to have concealed P5,000 on February 3, 2004. Kanjabanga and Gaabopiwe have further been charged with concealing P25,000.

Furthermore, Kanjabanga and others before court are accused of concealing P13,000. The charge sheet states that this was done on February 2, 2004. According to an additional money laundering count, Kanjabanga and others not before court buried a total of P105,000 on January 29, 2004.

Finally, Kanjabanga is accused of laundering P2,500 and another P6,000 with Tumelo on March 1, 2006.