Africa-Press – Botswana. Former president Ian Khama has rebuffed overtures from security agents seeking to apologise or negotiate over the widely discredited claims that P100 billion was stolen from Bank of Botswana’s coffers.
Khama, now saddled on the throne as Kgosi of BaNgwato, was commenting on the response given by the Minister of Justice, Nelson Ramaotwana, to questions he had raised.
Minister Ramaotwana had told Ntlo ya Dikgosi that a full report from the Ministry of Finance had confirmed that no such funds were ever lost.
No evidence
“I have received a full report pertaining to this matter, which assessed what could have occurred because there was a report from the Ministry of Finance that as a country, we have not lost funds amounting to P100 billion,” he said.
Ramaotwana said he had thoroughly reviewed the report, “from the first page to the last,” and found no evidence that such an amount had been stolen. “Even the report, which I have also interrogated, shows that there was no P100 billion stolen from Botswana,” he said.
According to the justice minister, the Accountant General, the Bank of Botswana and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) have all confirmed that the bank accounts alleged in the fabricated saga are not linked to the Bank of Botswana (BoB).
Meet and negotiate
“I then directed that plaintiffs and defendants should meet and negotiate as per President Boko’s directive that the state should refrain from persecuting innocent citizens,” he said. “I don’t want to go into details because negotiations are yet to commence.
“According to the law, there should be a complaint. If someone is accused of theft and there is no complaint, there is no case. Therefore, there will be consequences of ramifications,” he said.
“The law will take its course”
Ramaotwana said the matter will be referred to the police for further investigations to identify the fabricators. “The law will take its course,” he emphasised. “No one is above the law.”
The minister added that the report only assessed what transpired and whether money was stolen. “Negotiations between the plaintiffs and defendants will proceed because as per the law,” he said. “You have to offer an apology when you have defamed someone. After that, then we shall find out what the terms of settlement are.”
In turn, Khama criticised the state’s handling of the matter. “We have law enforcement agencies who are implicated and some are still in the public service and no action has been taken against them,” he said.
BoB affidavit
The former president pointed to a BoB affidavit confirming that no money was stolen and was referred to the police but this was never disclosed. “The court had ruled that those who fabricated the matter should be charged with perjury,” said Khama. “Nothing has happened. What worries me is that law enforcement officers have broken the law.
“They are still employed by your government. Why are they not held accountable? Some witnesses may die by the time you look for witness statements or the suspects may cover up. Some may approach us to soften the blow. Infact, some approached me asking for an apology. I turned them down because I don’t want to be compromised.”
The former president insisted he was not targeting the current administration. “I would like to clarify that I’m not pointing fingers at your government,” he said. “But as you are now in government, we expect you to hold those people accountable.”
Unfounded and facricated
In a 2021 ruling, Justice Zein Kebonang of the Gaborone High Court found that the allegations against agent Wilhelmina Maswabi of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), codenamed Butterfly, were not only unfounded but fabricated.
The case also implicated Khama, South African businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe, and founding Director General of DISS, the late Isaac Kgosi.
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