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- AfriForum says political interference has prevented South Africa from providing information to Botswana in a case involving businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe.
- Botswana’s chief prosecutor, Stephen Tiroyakgosi, says the delay means that some charges in the case had to be dropped.
- The Justice Department says non-state entities cannot act as intermediaries between states.
AfriForum lawyer Gerrie Nel has blamed “political interference” for South Africa’s delay in reacting to a request for assistance from Botswana in a case involving money laundering allegations against businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, which was also broadcast via Facebook to AfriForum members, Nel questioned why South Africa rushed to issue an extradition request after criminally accused self-proclaimed pastor Shepherd Bushiri, he jumped bail and went to Malawi, but has not done so. reacted to a request for mutual legal assistance from Botswana in more than a year.
“The South African government sent delegations to Botswana to discuss this application with them,” Nel alleged.
He said:
“What also happened is that senior South African officials visited the banks to discuss this application and they had no right to do so.”
The case in Botswana is against intelligence officer Welheminah Maswabi, whose code name is “Butterfly”, but in an affidavit filed in this case, Motsepe is alleged to have been a co-signer of at least two bank accounts, one in Absa and another at Nedbank, which had some of the more than $ 10 billion (around R150 million) that was allegedly stolen from the Botswana government to finance a “coup” before that country’s elections last year.
Nel said AfriForum filed a mandamus on August 19, but despite a statement from Justice Minister Ronald Lamola a few days after he would object, there was still no formal communication on the matter.
Lamola spokesman Chrispin Phiri said at the time that the department would object because the law did not provide for non-governmental entities, referring to AfriForum, to act as intermediaries between states.
Nel said he presented the documents “physically, at the department and the state attorney” on September 28, after which his team received a WhatsApp message from the state attorney asking if they would consider dropping the case.
READ | Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe, Ian Khama acquitted of wrongdoing in report he commissioned
He said the department again missed the November 3 deadline to respond to the documents. The case was settled in June of next year, which, he said, created a further delay.
Phiri said the department forwards mutual legal assistance requests to the relevant law enforcement agencies. News24 is waiting for your answer to specific questions.
Botswana’s director of public prosecution, Stephen Tiroyakgosi, confirmed that the lack of communication from South Africa following Botswana’s request in September last year meant that some charges against Maswabi had to be dropped.
“We had to go to court in January with a reduced charge sheet,” he said.
He continued:
“We still maintain that we want as much information as possible. If there is none, we want to know so we can move forward on this matter.”
In response to a question, he said no charges were brought against Motsepe or his alleged accomplice, former President Ian Khama, “because certain information that we were seeking against him has not been confirmed.”
Motsepe and Khama held a press conference in August, hosted by former public protector Thuli Madonsela, after a report by British lawyer Cherie Blair “exonerated” them and criticized the Botswana government for using the rule of law to deal with political enemies.
Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe speaking about allegations of an affair with former Botswana president Ian Khama and her alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow the country’s president.
City Press PHOTO: Cebile Ntuli / City Press
Motsepe previously submitted letters from the two banks, denying that the accounts mentioned in the Botswana court documents existed at all.
Khama and the President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, had consequences after Khama resigned at the end of his term to make way for Masisi.
There have also been fears from Botswana that there is interference in the case because Motsepe is the sister-in-law of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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