Lawyers representing Bakang Seretse have warned the state that they will launch an application for a permanent stay of execution at the High Court if the Regional Magistrate Court does not agree with them Thabo Malambane – Deputy Director in the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) – has no legal authority to prosecute Seretse.
On June 11, Gaborone Regional Magistrate Mareledi Dipate will make a ruling on Seretse’s application for the charges levelled against himself and his co-accused to be dropped as Malambane was not lawfully authorized to draw up and sign the charge sheet or even to prosecute the matter.
In papers filed before court, attorneys Unoda Mack and Kabo Motswagole issued a stern warning to the DCEC and Attorney General that, should Dipate not rule in their favour, they will approach the High Court to have the charges quashed or permanently stayed.
‘We implore the state to abandon these charges. There is no reasonable cause to believe that the accused committed any of the offences,’ warned Motswagole and Mack. ‘Kindly treat this letter as a statutory notice that, should you not heed our request, we shall approach the High Court for relief upon lapse of the requisite notice period.’
RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL
The lawyers also accused the DCEC of violating Seretse and his co-accused’s rights to a fair trial by reviving charges related to an investigation that was conducted some 10 years ago.
Investigations into Seretse, his business partners, Kgori Capital and their dealings with the National Petroleum Fund (NPF) commenced in 2016. At the time, the DCEC focused on a consultancy and advisory services contract that government had signed with Basis Point Capital in December 2015. In executing that contract, Basis Point Capital sub-contracted Kgori Capital to discharge some of its obligations.
In 2017, Seretse, Sharifa Noor, Alphonse Ndzinge, Kgori Capital and Kgori Holdings were charged with money laundering, stealing by agent, forgery of an official document and conspiracy to defraud government. Specifically, Seretse and his co-accused were accused of issuing a false official document instructing Kgori Capital to pay Kgori Holdings P31, 360 000.00 for delivery of a revenue collection and management system to the NPF. The state also alleged the group submitted a false P4 million maintenance claim to the Department of Energy and laundered money through a series of transactions involving suspected proceeds of crime.
An earlier statement from the DCEC claimed, ‘The funds were suspected to have been derived from defrauding government. These transactions were intended to conceal, disguise or transfer the illicit proceeds.’
All the charges were ultimately quashed by the Extension II Magistrate Court in December 2020, only to be reinstated by Malambane in March 2026. In papers filed before court, Seretse’s lawyers accused the DCEC of violating his right to be tried fairly and within a reasonable time.
‘Initiating the charges in 2026 was highly prejudicial as the accused are being subjected to double jeopardy. As such, they are entitled to relief,’ argued the lawyers.
PERMANENT STAY OF PROSECUTION
According to court documents, Basis Point Capital delivered the online fuel levy management system to the government in 2017 and was paid the P31,360,000.00. The defense notes that the system is currently operating to the satisfaction of officials at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, adding that the millions the DCEC alleges were stolen constituted a legitimate, one-off payment for the infrastructure.
Furthermore, the government has already settled the P4 million maintenance fee claimed by Basis Point Capital in a March 2017 invoice. The Sunday Standard has seen a consent order signed before Justice B. Makhwe on August 3, 2023, confirming this payment.
Motswagole and Mack argue that any administrative questions regarding whether the procurement of the system was properly sanctioned should be directed at government officials, not Seretse and his co-accused. They also highlighted that the validity of the contract between the government and Basis Point Capital was previously reasserted by the Court of Appeal in Kgori Capital vs. The DPP and Another. Given these prior judicial findings, the lawyers argue the state lacks the baseline evidence required to move forward.
‘A person should never be prosecuted in the absence of minimal evidence upon which he might be convicted,’ Mack and Motswagole argued. ‘Accordingly, the charges against the accused persons should not be maintained.’
The defense reiterated that if the state does not abandon the case, the matter will be escalated to the High Court for a permanent stay of proceedings.