Motsepe and Khama ready to take on foes in Botswana government

Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela says she has dealt with similar allegations as those faced by former Botswana president Ian Khama and businesswoman, Bridget Motsepe.

The former corruption watchdog, who was hired by the pair to review the report and chair its launch, defended Motsepe and Khama’s ‘peculiar’ decision to essentially pay for their own investigation and release findings in their favour.

The report was on an investigation into claims filed by a high level Botswanan police official in an affidavit, in which he alleged that $10 billion USD was stolen from the country’s reserve bank at the behest of Khama and Motsepe, in a plot to overthrow the government. It found that allegations of money laundering against the accused were fabricated.

Madonsela was called in for the job after Motsepe declared she could not seek help from her brother-in-law, President Cyril Ramaphosa, for similar reasons as Khama could not seek help within his home country’s state institutions.

“As you know, I was Public Protector and (in that office) we use a special methodology when reviewing reports – what happened, what should have happened, is there a discrepancy between what should have happened, and if so is there an explanation for that?” explained Madonsela.

She said she too had several questions when she was asked to review the report, including why neither of the accused approached the watchdog institutions in Botswana. But, given their various positions, one a former president and the other, a sister-in-law of a president, they could only turn to independent institutions to help clear their names.

Khama said in addition to legal action he’d be taking against individuals for perjury and defamation, he planned on laying criminal charges against top security officials involved in the state’s investigation against him.

“It is a clear violation of our laws and our constitution,” said Khama describing the probe as “the aggravated use of state funds and resources in pursuit of a political agenda.”

He added it was clear from these actions that the veracity of last year’s general election should, as a result, also be called into question.

Meanwhile, Motsepe, who insisted she was trying to avoid using any political clout she has to sway public institutions in her favour at all costs, would be taking Omnia’s report to the African Union to be peer-reviewed.

Omnia Strategy is an international law firm founded by Cherie Blair, the wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The top British barrister and stateswoman said during the webinar launch that attacks of this nature were commonly used in ugly political disputes, in which innocent parties were put through a ‘trial by media’ on fabricated allegations.

The firm, which specialises in dispute resolution between state institutions and public figures such as former Malawian President Joyce Banda, recently secured the release of alleged political prisoner Russian businesswoman, Marsha Lazareva, who was jailed in Kuwait for over a year.

Alaco, a business intelligence firm which helped conduct the investigation for Omnia, and was responsible,among other things for verifying claims that Motsepe, was a signatory on various bank accounts involved in the allegations.

Alaco specialises in helping its clients “manage risk, resolve disputes and protect their reputations through the provision and analysis of information,” according to its website.

Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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