The US Department of Justice early this week noted that "the official act allegedly undertaken by Jefferson included leading official business delegations to Africa, corresponding with US and foreign government officials, and utilising congressional staff members to promote businesses and businesspersons. Business ventures that Congressman Jefferson sought to promote included telecommunications deals in Equatorial Guinea; satellite transmission contracts in Botswana, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo; and development of different plants and facilities in Nigeria."
The indictment further maintains that Jefferson sought and received bribes in order "to advance efforts to obtain satellite transmission contracts ... in Botswana, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo".
The American media has dubbed the Jefferson sage "the cold cash case", ostensibly in reference to the US$90 000 (P558, 900) cash, that was separated into US$10 000 (P62, 100) increments, wrapped in aluminum foil, and concealed inside various frozen food containers.
Jefferson had been a senior member of the House of Representatives' Congressional Black Caucus, the Ways and Means Committee, the co-chairperson of the Africa Trade and Investment Caucus, and the Congressional Caucuses of Brazil and Nigeria. The indictment charges that he used his congressional clout to arrange African business deals. He has, however, said he did nothing improper.
Jefferson has interacted officially and privately with government and the private sector in Botswana in the past few years.
Presidential spokesman Jeff Ramsay distanced the Office of the President (OP) from linkages with the bribery allegations, pointing out that they only dealt with Jefferson in his official capacity as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). "We have often dealt with him in that capacity," he told Mmegi yesterday.
In 2001, Jefferson had a 10-day working visit to Botswana, from April 6 to 15, which was sponsored by Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) to the tune of US$20, 753.33 (P128, 878.17 at current exchange rate).
Elias Dewa, who was the executive director of BOCCIM then, this week recalled that "we dealt with him (Jefferson) under the auspices of the Congressional Black Caucus." Dewa further disclosed that BOCCIM actually hosted him on behalf of the Botswana government. "That was the last time we had any dealings with him, though he paid subsequent visits to the country."
Jefferson's brief during the BOCCIM trip was to "investigate the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) implementation; anti-AIDS initiatives and diamond industry in Botswana."
He was later to be roped in as part of Botswana's "Diamonds-for-Development" campaign, at the height of the 'blood' diamonds controversy.
Jacob Sesinyi, Debswana's public and corporate affairs manager, yesterday noted that before they engaged the man, Jefferson had had several visits to Botswana. "So when we looked for support from the influential Congressional Black Caucus, he seemed to be the only one with knowledge of Botswana. Our dealings with him were purely on that campaign."
The US federal jury indictment cites "satellite transmission contracts in Botswana." Mmegi has since established that Jefferson never met the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) during his forays into Botswana. This could only mean he must have dealt directly with the players in the telecommunications sector.
Jefferson has led various US delegations to other African countries. For instance, in February 2004, he led a business delegation on an eight-day trip to West Africa "to explore general investment opportunities and AGOA." That trip was sponsored by US high-tech firms that included Project Consulting Services, Verizon, IGate Inc, and Leth Energy Inc.
As part of the probes by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), offices of IGate were raided by the agency. IGate is known to hold rights to "a technology that enables copper wires to transport high-speed Internet service to a wide array of consumers," according to the Washington Post. see page 28
