Staff Writer
In an interesting twist of tales, the state has recharged businessman Bakang Seretse, Sharifa Noor, and Alphonse Ndzinge alongside investment entity Kgori Capital (Pty) Ltd in the infamous National Petroleum Fund(NPF) case.
However, this time, the charges do not centre around the alleged fleecing of the P230 million from the NPF for self-enrichment as alleged by the state before but on rather completely fresh charges.
According to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions(DPP) new charge sheet seen by this publication, the charges against Seretse, Ndzinge, Noor, and Kgori Capital, range from stealing by agent being count one and two, forgery of official document and a conspiracy to defraud in the fourth count.
Relating to the particulars of the offence, the state alleges that for count one the accused persons Kgori Capital herein represented by its directors Seretse, Noor and Ndzinge all working together and in concert on or about 29th May 2017 at or near Gaborone, being an agent of the Botswana government “entrusted with property to wit money under the Botswana Petroleum Fund, did fraudulently convert the sum of Fifteen Million Six Hundred and Eighty Thousand Pula(P15, 680, 000.00) to the use of another person being Kgori Holdings (Pty) Ltd without the consent of the government of Botswana, thereby stealing the same.”
The particulars of offence for count two is that the accused persons being Kgori Capital, herein, represented by its directors working together or in concert on or about 12th June 2017 at or near Gaborone fraudulently converted the sum of P15 680, 000.00(Fifteen Million Six Hundred and Eighty Thousand Pula) to Kgori Holdings, without government consent thereby stealing the same.
The state further alleges that for count three, accused persons Seretse and Noor on or about 18th May 2017 at or near Gaborone working together in concert, unlawfully and with intent to deceive or to defraud, created a false official document to wit a letter addressed to Kgori Capital dated the 18th May 2017 in which letter an instruction was made for Kgori Capital to make payment to Kgori Holdings in the sum of P31, 360, 000.00 (Thirty-One Million Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand Pula) as fee for deployment of the Revenue Collection and Reporting System, purporting it to be a genuine document from the Department of Energy under the then Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources knowing that the said document was false and not authorised.
Meanwhile, for count four, the state contends that accused persons Seretse, Noor, Ndzinge and Kgori Capital and Kgori Holdings which is represented by its directors being Ndzinge and Noor working together and in concert, on or about 29th March 2017 at or near Gaborone did unlawfully and fraudulently conspire together, and with other persons unknown to the state, to defraud the Government of Botswana by issuing an invoice dated 29th March 2017 which bore document number PR00001 to the Department of Energy purporting that services in the sum of P31, 360, 000.00 (Thirty-One Million Three Hundred Sixty Thousand Pula) had been rendered with the intention of causing prejudice to the Government of Botswana.
According to the DPP the offences were contrary to Section 279(b) of the Penal Code(CAP 08:01) of the laws of the Republic of Botswana, Section 346 of the Penal Code(CAP 08:01) and Section 312 of the Penal Code(CAP 08:01) of the laws of Botswana.
Previously, Noor, Ndzinge and Kgori Capital were all initially charged before being acquitted.
However, for Seretse, the state would drag on for years with his cases insisting that it had reasonable suspension that he had committed offences related to the NPF.
Nevertheless, his cases together with that of all accused never saw the light of the day as they were dropped at some point.
With the state pressing for prosecution with new charges, it remains to be seen how this long spanning case will drag.
