l Kgosi refuses to take plea
l PSP, Rose Seretse amongst those to testify against KgosiSHARON MATHALA
Staff WriterA corruption docket dating as far back as 2009 by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) finally reached the High Court this week, with the former director general of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), Isaac Kgosi being slapped with a charge for receiving a bribe from electronic company Vlatacom D.O.O. According to prosecutors, Vlatacom D.O.O paid about P687,281.29 to Kgosi as a reward for having influenced the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) to award tenders to the company worth millions.
According to the charge sheet, Kgosi, “indirectly accepted for himself the sum of P687,281.29 from Vlatacom D.O.O as valuable consideration for having used his influence in recommending that PPADB sanction direct appointment of Vlatacom D.O.O to provide countrywide communication infrastructure, supply of electronic ID card production system and supply and installation of AFIS system to the Directorate of Intelligence and Security.”
Vlatacom D.O.O was engaged by the DIS and the Office of the President (OP) between 2008 and 2015 and then received tenders worth about half a billion pula.
In 2015, Mmegi reported that Kgosi allegedly received close to P1 million from Vlatacom D.O.O to purchase Sentlhane Farm. The money was paid through a leading local law firm, Collins Newman trust account on August 3, 2009. Kgosi bought Sentlhane farm from an auction and allegedly made a payment of P100,000 in February 2009. Exactly a year after the auction purchase, Vladacom paid for the outstanding amount allegedly through a trust account of Collins and Newman.
In a DCEC interrogation recording done on February 27, 2012, Kgosi said the funds were from the late Debswana managing director, Louis Nchindo. Kgosi said Nchindo just presented him with a P900,000 gift in hard cash because ‘he was very close to him’. Kgosi attempted to explain to the investigator Don Mackenzie and former DCEC boss Rose Seretse on how exactly Nchindo gave him the money.
He said Nchido was helping him out as he usually did.
“No he was close to me, he was very close to me and then he was like a father figure to me and then I told him about it and that I wanted to buy it and so forth and then he said go and buy it and I said I don’t want to apply for any loan because I still have a loan and then he said I will help you out. Because usually he does, he used to help out when I was in the thing, during the Serowe North Development Trust, he would maybe give in a cheque and so forth so he assisted in that and gave me money to pay for it,” (SIC) reads the transcript from the interview in verbatim.
In the same interview, Kgosi was asked to explain if he had any witnesses to this gift by Nchindo to which he responded, “Well, I don’t know because Nchindo used to do his things covertly, he never wanted people to know what he did.” In court this week, after the charge sheet was read out to him for the first time, the once feared spy chief refused to take a plea.
Asked how he pleads, Kgosi responded: “I can’t take any plea now because I have just been served with these papers. I will have to study them first and with the advice of my lawyers decide what to do.” Kgosi, who cut a lonely figure in court and still massaging his back from the usual back pains, consistently complained and looked like a worried man. His facial expression completely contrast the time the media first reported about the corruption docket.
A further look at Kgosi’s trial documents shows that the Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Emmah Peloetletse is listed as the first witness in the 14-list witnesses the State intends to call to prove its case. Another prominent name on the list is Seretse (Rose) who is listed as the 18th witness. The case continues on August 24 before Justice Mokwadi Chris Gabanagae of the Gaborone High Court.
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