Ndzinge, Seretse, Sharifa Noor, Kgori Capital (Pty) Ltd and Kgori Holdings (Pty) Ltd are jointly facing a 63-count indictment that includes charges of stealing by an agent, forgery of an official document, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. In an application for separation of trial, filed before the court, Ndzinge is asking that proceedings against him continue even if Seretse and the other accused succeed in obtaining a stay pending an appeal. Ndzinge says he is being dragged into a potentially lengthy legal limbo by interlocutory battles being fought by his co-accused. He indicated that the battles have nothing to do with his defence. At the heart of his application is a blunt warning that if the entire case is halted pending the High Court proceedings, it could take 12 to 18 months or longer before the criminal trial gets moving.
For Ndzinge, that will be too long to wait since the alleged offences date back to 2017 and 2018, meaning some of the events at the centre of the prosecution are already more than nine years old. The criminal proceedings relate to the long-running NPF investigation, which centres on allegations involving millions of pula that were allegedly misappropriated from government funds. According to the charge sheet, the five accused are alleged to have committed offences involving approximately P62.7 million linked to transactions involving the NPF.
