Police intensify probe in F/town-West bogus petition
Chakalisa Dube | Wednesday September 28, 2016 16:20
Yesterday insiders at the police indicated that since the beginning of August the police have been busy gathering information on the case.
The police have also reportedly engaged an independent handwriting expert in a bid to build up their case.
Sources said that so far some of those who were cited as master minders of the petition among them Ernest Mario Tsheko and specially elected councillor Zazambi Tuelo have been interviewed by the police. A few people whose signatures appear in the petition have also been lined up for questioning.
The petitioners wanted the Office of the President (OP) to postpone the by-election so that the BDP be allowed to address complaints from primary elections so that Ignatius Moswaane, who was barred from contesting through a court order, could contest.
Yesterday Tuelo and Tsheko confirmed that they were recently summoned to the police station as part of an investigation of the bogus petition.
“We were invited to submit our handwriting specimen. We were accompanied by others who are cited as master minders of the petition,” Tuelo said.
Patricia Bakwinya, Laiza Maguswi, Patricia Maguswi and Kgalalelo Bakwinya were also cited as mastermind of the petition.
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) filed a report with the Commissioner of Police in January 2014 demanding that the petition, which was made to the OP in October 2013, be investigated.
The bogus document, which had over 2,000 signatures, led to the postponement of the Francistown West by-election.
The petition, had names of people who claimed to be representing Moswaane, a BDP candidate who had failed to make it through the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) nomination at the Francistown West by-election.
The IEC banned Moswaane from contesting citing that his BDP colleagues through a court order have interdicted him.
His colleagues cited that they have been cheated at the primaries.
It later turned out that the petition was bogus, as it featured names of people who have long passed on among them veteran Botswana People’s Party (BPP) fire brand Tolani Poiso.
In fact Poiso’s son also registered his complaints about the bogus petition to the police.
In July the BCP threatened that it would privately prosecute those implicated in the petition if the police did not move swiftly and prosecute them.
The BCP has accused the police of always trying to kill the case while the police maintained that they are still investigating.
Yesterday police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Witness Bosija confirmed to Mmegi that they recently interviewed some of those who are implicated in the petition. He however, declined to disclose the status of the investigation or when they will be complete.
“This is a long and complex investigation. We are going to call all those who are allegedly implicated in the petition. I plead with the members of the public to be patient while we are still investigating,” Bosija said.
He would also not deny or confirm that the police have engaged an independent handwriting expert as part of their investigation.
“All I can say is that where necessary we engage various experts that can help us deliver a quality job,” he said.