Fresh information has emerged, revealing how Cabinet power is being abused to push a cut price mine deal that is expected to benefit President Duma Boko’s son.
A whopping P150 million is at stake as at least three Cabinet Ministers back a politically connected buyer over creditors, workers and taxpayers.
A quite but consequential battle over a collapsed gold mine is exposing one of the most brazen abuses of Cabinet power in recent history – a deal that could drain P150 million from the public purse while delivering a strategic national asset to a politically connected company for a fraction of its value.
At the center of the storm is Mupane Gold Mine, currently under liquidation and Ulsan Botswana, a Turkish company linked to President Boko’s son. Despite a vastly superior competing offer that would settle all debts and protect tax payers, senior government figures are actively manipulating the liquidation process to force through Ulsan’s bid.
Court filings, creditor filings, correspondence and interviews reveal a disturbing pattern. Cabinet Ministers presiding over creditor departments are prepared to write off massive public claims, and use regulatory power to secure the deal.
The facts are stark. Nova Aga has submitted a P290 million bid, enough to fully settle all verified creditor claims. Ulsan Botswana on the other hand has offered just USD 500 000 (about P6,7 million).
Yet despite the yawning gap, at least three Cabinet Ministers, Vice President and Minister of Finance Ndaba Gaolatlhe, Minister of Minerals and Energy Bogolo Kenewendo and Minister of International Relations Phenyo Butale are accused of backing the lower bid.
If the Ulsan campaign succeeds, more than P150 million owed to government linked entities would effectively be written off, and hundreds of former Mupane Mine workers would forfeit their severance packages.
Court records show that the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, under Minister Kenewendo, is owed P53 million by Mupane Mine. The Department of Mines, also under her authority is owed USD 5,4 million (over P70 million) Botswana Power Corporation, again under her portfolio is owed more than P15 million.
Despite this, Kenewendo has signaled that she is prepared to use her licensing powers to block Nova Aga’s bid, effectively sacrificing public claims in favour of Ulsan Botswana. This represents a textbook conflict of interest; a minister using regulatory authority to defeat a bid that would pay her own ministry in full.
The consequences extend beyond balance sheets. As Kenewendo’s ministry contemplates writing off tens of millions, BPC has applied for an electricity tariff increase effective 1 April, citing financial strain and the state’s inability to finance consumers. In effect, taxpayers and electricity users would absorb losses created by political decisions, while a private investor walks away with a national asset at a discount.
The Ministry of Finance is also implicated. Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) which falls under Vice President Gaolatlhe has indicated a willingness to write off P3.1 million in tax debt owed by Mupane Mine, a more that serves no purpose other than to smooth Ulsan Botswana’s path. Ironically, Nova Aga has formally appealed to Gaolatlhe, warning of political interference in a judicial liquidation process.
Perhaps most troubling is the involvement by the Ministry of International Relations. Court records and off the record interviews with creditors indicate that Phenyo Butale’s ministry did not merely ‘facilitate’ the bid, they actively lobbied creditors to vote in favour of Ulsan Botswana.
After an initial creditors’ meeting scheduled for 11th July 2025 collapsed amid reported behind the scenes lobbying, the meeting was postponed to 26th August 2025.
When it finally convened, creditors delivered a decisive verdict. At the August meeting, creditors overwhelmingly backed Nova Aga. Attorney Kwado Osei Ofei, holding proxies for 79 of 177 creditors, representing 49% of total claim value moved the resolution. Additional creditors support pushed the vote beyond the 51% majority required by law. The Master of the High Court invited objections. None were raised.
According to reports from worried creditors, the vote did not end government’s involvement. Senior officials, among them a high-ranking figure from the Ministry of International Relations allegedly intensified efforts to pressure creditors to reverse their positions, an extraordinary move after a lawful creditors’ decision. When this failed, Ulsan Botswana filed an application with the High Court to halt the award to Nova Aga, in a move that threatens to drag the judiciary into the dirty war.
Botswana’s Cabinet Ministers swear an oath to faithfully execute their duties and act in the nation’s best interests. The Mupane controversy however raises a blunt question: How does writing off P150 million in public claims, to benefit a politically connected buyer offering a fraction of the mine value serve Botswana?
As the liquidation process grinds on, the issue is no longer just about Mupane Gold Mine. It is about whether Cabinet authority is being used to protect the public interest or to advance private influence at public expense.