She was subsequently arrested at one of the spy unit's offices at the Commerce Park area in Gaborone and taken in for questioning, then later suspended. Following her suspension, she had back-to-back legal battle with the State up until 2021 when South African Afriforum Advocate Gerrie Nel advised the State to drop her charges due to lack of evidence. Now, in a new update before Parliament, Mmusi says there is no need for the State to apologise or pay anyone compensation especially that investigations are still ongoing. “There is no basis for the State to apologise nor pay anyone compensation. I do not know if Cabinet was ever briefed about the Butterfly case,” he said. The minister emphasised that since investigations are ongoing and crucial information is being sought, the State is keeping its distance and will never interfere with investigations.
On the roping in of Advocate Nel to the ‘Butterfly case’, Mmusi first explained that the office of the DPP is a constitutional office and in terms of Section 51A (6) of the Constitution, the DPP in the exercise of her functions vested in her is not subject to the direction or control of any other person. He stated that it means the DPP is not answerable to anybody for the actions she takes in any criminal proceedings, and that is why the offer was extended to Advocate Nel. “The DPP, in the exercise of functions vested in her by the Constitution of Botswana, is not subject to the direction or control of any other person. The offer to represent the DPP was extended to some of the best advocates in South Africa especially around Johannesburg and Pretoria and Gerrie Nel was readily available to take up the matter,” he said. The minister said when they approached Advocate Nel, he gladly took up the matter more so that he is vested with the requisite experience and expertise in criminal law and investigation of trans-boundary organised crimes. He emphasised that he was now a private practitioner with a vast knowledge on issues of mutual legal assistance and alternatives to mutual legal assistance and he assisted the DPP to get the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) cases going. “The DPP's engagement of Advocate Nel was solely on the basis of his reputation as a former prosecutor and legal practitioner and not account of his relationship with the Afriforum,” Mmusi said.
