Former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Carter Morupisi, will rue the day he appealed an earlier conviction for corruption as the country’s apex court has overruled the initial judgment.
The Court of Appeal (CoA) sitting of three judges on Friday imposed a stiffer penalty on Morupisi as they felt that his plea for a lenient sentence did not mean that the courts should look the other way. The ex-top civil servant is now set to endure seven long years behind bars after the CoA overruled the initial judgment. Two years ago, Morupisi was found guilty by the Gaborone High Court on three counts of corruption. The charges spanned from the infamous Toyota Land Cruiser and the P500 million contract between the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) and Capital Management Botswana (CMB), an asset management company. During initial sentencing, Morupisi was however only given suspended jail terms instead of serving a prison sentence and ordered to pay P130, 000. However in an attempt to clear his name, Morupisi approached the CoA just before the 2024 General Election hoping that it would reverse the judgment delivered by the High Court two years ago and be cleared to stand for office. In his appeal, the former PSP, had cited that he was a first time offender, a man who was on advanced years in the evening of his life only waiting to meet his maker.
Morupisi further argued that the vehicle in question had since been forfeited to the State and he had lost his good name. However, it turned out that he opened a can of worms on himself as the CoA panel of three judges of Justice Tebogo Tau, Singh Walia and Baaitse Nkabinde was of the view that he got off lightly. The three judges went on to impose a stiffer penalty on Morupisi as they felt that his grounds for a lenient sentence did not mean that the courts should look the other way. “The offences committed by the appellant are serious and secondly that the sentence imposed by the trial court is so disproportionate to the enormity of the crime as to amount to manifest miscarriage of justice,” the three judges stated. After careful consideration of the heads of arguments submitted, the three judges put Morupisi behind bars. They stated that this was supposed to be the initial sentence looking at the seriousness of his offences. “There are no redeeming features in whatsoever in this case and immediate custodial sentence is called for. “It must be said in conclusion that the sentences below reflect a proper tempering thereof with mercy, being substantially lower than the maximum sentences prescribed by the relevant legislation,” reads the judgment.
The CoA proceeded to order that the initial orders by the High Court be scrapped off. “Sentences by the trial court are set aside and substituted by the following count 1; 18 months’ imprisonment, five years imprisonment in count two and seven years in count three,” the three judges ordered. The sentences shall run concurrently to one another, therefore, he will serve only seven years. The State has been ordered to pay back Morupisi for the fines if he had already paid.
Morupisi further argued that the vehicle in question had since been forfeited to the State and he had lost his good name. However, it turned out that he opened a can of worms on himself as the CoA panel of three judges of Justice Tebogo Tau, Singh Walia and Baaitse Nkabinde was of the view that he got off lightly. The three judges went on to impose a stiffer penalty on Morupisi as they felt that his grounds for a lenient sentence did not mean that the courts should look the other way. “The offences committed by the appellant are serious and secondly that the sentence imposed by the trial court is so disproportionate to the enormity of the crime as to amount to manifest miscarriage of justice,” the three judges stated. After careful consideration of the heads of arguments submitted, the three judges put Morupisi behind bars. They stated that this was supposed to be the initial sentence looking at the seriousness of his offences. “There are no redeeming features in whatsoever in this case and immediate custodial sentence is called for. “It must be said in conclusion that the sentences below reflect a proper tempering thereof with mercy, being substantially lower than the maximum sentences prescribed by the relevant legislation,” reads the judgment.
The CoA proceeded to order that the initial orders by the High Court be scrapped off. “Sentences by the trial court are set aside and substituted by the following count 1; 18 months’ imprisonment, five years imprisonment in count two and seven years in count three,” the three judges ordered. The sentences shall run concurrently to one another, therefore, he will serve only seven years. The State has been ordered to pay back Morupisi for the fines if he had already paid.
