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State puts more ice on Guma, Olopeng frozen accounts

Moyo Moyo
Moyo

The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has made an application before Justice Singh Walia seeking for the accounts of the two legislators to be frozen pending investigations.

Both parties appeared before the court yesterday to argue the application for a restraint order after DPP obtained an order for urgency early this month.

DPP had approached court after the 60-day deadline given by the magistrate to have concluded all investigations against the MPs, elapsed.

State lawyer, Ernest Mosate submitted that the restraint application and order was the confiscation offences identified as a possession of unexplained property and money laundering.

He explained that there was a reasonable suspicion that the two benefitted from the proceeds of crime and that was the reason why the money and accounts sought to be restrained.

“The target here is not the person, but the property. Even if they are not charged the property maybe forfeited as it is believed to be proceeds of crime as the Act allows,” he said.

Mosate argued that the application was not barred by the principles of defence of claim preclusion because the Magistrate Court had not determined the matter between the parties.

He noted that the respondents’ contention that the matter had been dealt with by the magistrate was not true because no court had made any pronouncement on whether the respondents laundered money or possessed unexplained property.

“Any attempt by the respondents to seek solace from the defence of claim preclusion is misplaced. The applicants could still bring fresh application for restraint upon lapsing of the first one because of the burdensome condition imposed by the Magistrate Court,” he said.

He said the investigation of Koketso Ntswetswe has revealed varied circumstances that gave him the reasonable belief that the money in question was either benefits or reward of crime.

Guma’s lawyer Moses Kadye said the magistrate had dealt with the matter and that there was no reason for such application, adding that the dispute before court involves the same parties as the one at the Magistrate Court.

Kadye said they were not in court for money laundering or property, but for pending investigations and that it was not fair for the state to hold his client’s accounts for two years based on an unfounded suspicion.

Olopeng’s lawyer Doctor Pusoentsi concurred that the matter was also founded on the same cause of action, arguing that the Magistrate Court had given a final judgement through a confirmation of the rule nisi on the August 2, 2016 and that the state never appealed it.

“Accordingly, the applicant cannot just ignore the proceedings at the Magistrate Court which were dealt with to finality and file the same papers in this court for a similar order as the matter is res judicata,” he said.

Walia reserved judgement to an unspecified date.

“Judgement is reserved and the interim order issued against the respondents will remain in place until the delivery of the judgement,” he said.

In his order issued on October 1, Justice Walia confirmed that the matter was urgent; ordered that the account belonging to Guma’s business and the one to Olopeng both held Standard Chartered Bank Botswana be restrained; and the money in it not dealt with or disposed pending the finalisation of any criminal prosecution to be undertaken by the applicant.