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- State attorneys say they did not use WhatsApp to communicate with legal officials in Botswana, as AfriForum claims.
- South Africa wants to deal with Botswana directly through diplomatic channels and not through “non-state actors” like AfriForum.
- AfriForum, on behalf of the government of Botswana, will take the South African government to court in June to force it to respond to a request for mutual legal assistance.
The South African Department of Justice has said it used emails and official channels to communicate with Botswana about its request for Mutual Legal Assistance in an alleged money laundering case, not WhatsApp.
On Thursday night, Justice Ministry spokesman Chrispin Phiri said Chief Deputy State Prosecutor Ramathithi Sebelemetsa never used WhatsApp to communicate with Botswana’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Priscilla Israel.
At a press conference on Wednesday, AfriForum attorney Gerrie Nel said South African government attorneys had used WhatsApp rather than more formal means, such as letters and court documents, to communicate with the Botswana government.
AfriForum has been contracted by the Botswana government in an attempt to force the South African government to comply with a request for Mutual Legal Assistance, filed in September 2019, in its case against former intelligence officer Welheminah Maswabi, codenamed ” Butterfly “.
An affidavit filed in the case alleges that businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe was a co-signer of two bank accounts, at Absa and Nedbank, which had part of the $ 10 billion (approximately R150 billion) allegedly stolen from the Botswana government. to finance a “coup” before that country’s elections in 2019.
READ | Bridgette Motsepe case: AfriForum blames ‘political interference’ for SA’s delay in Botswana affair
The former President of Botswana, Ian Khama, who had a dispute with his successor Mokgweetsi Masisi, is also implicated in this case.
Non-state actors
Phiri said the South African justice department cannot deal with “non-state actors” such as AfriForum on a matter that should be handled through diplomatic channels. “They will fight to explain who they are [in court]”Phiri said.
He confirmed that state prosecutors contacted AfriForum attorney Willie Spies by email on November 19 to inform them that Botswana’s Mutual Legal Assistance request was already being executed. The matter was referred to the Gauteng Public Prosecutor’s Office Director’s Office, as well as the Asset Confiscation Unit, for enforcement.
Sebelemetsa also asked Israel if Botswana would consider withdrawing the mandamus application that AfriForum had submitted on its behalf on August 19. He also said that she had promised to follow up on the matter.
Nel stated that “a defender from the office of [South Africa’s] The National Director of the Prosecutor’s Office “also contacted Israel on September 29. He said it was via WhatsApp and added that he had asked for official confirmation that South Africa was making progress on the request for Mutual Legal Assistance.
He said the last WhatsApp was on October 21, when Israel asked for a letter to confirm this, but said:
There was no communication after that date to formally acknowledge what they did.
He also said the Justice Department missed the November 3 deadline for submitting documents to oppose the mandamus request. Nel said he did not consider the request moot due to the lack of formal communication.
Nel said senior South African officials had traveled to Botswana to speak to the government about the case and the officials had also visited banks.
READ HERE | SA’s lack of cooperation did not deter AfriForum and Botswana from prosecuting Motsepe-Radebe
He said that AfriForum, on behalf of the Botswana government, will take the South African government to court in an attempt to force it to respond to the mandamus request, but this will likely only happen in June 2021.
Botswana Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Tiroyakgosi said the lack of information from South Africa made it difficult to prosecute all charges in the “Butterfly” case.
