At the last hearing, the defence told the court that it was still awaiting further particulars from the prosecution.
In particular defence counsel, Thabiso Tafila, of Minchin and Kelly, wants DPP to share with them information showing that Seretse had an interest in Serala, the company that was awarded a tender by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). Leonard Sechele of the DPP has since said such information would be disclosed when evidence is being led.
The issue of interest is critical to the case because Section 31 (1) of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act states that, "A member or an employee of a public body is guilty of corruption if he or an immediate member of his family has a direct or indirect interest in any company or undertaking with which such body proposes to deal, or he has a personal interest in any decision which such body is to make, and he knowingly fails to disclose the nature of such interest, or votes or participates in the proceedings of such body relating to such dealing or decision."The issue regarding interest was also raised on the first day of the case by the Chief Magistrate, Linah Mokibe-Oahile, who challenged the way the first charge against Seretse was framed. She said the charge was not consistent with the Corruption and Economic Crime Act because it did not indicate that Seretse had a personal interest either as a shareholder or a director in the company (Serala) that did business with BTC.
