Ruling in Seretse’s bid for P82m set for Tuesday

Asset manager Bakang Seretse will learn on December 15, 2020 whether he will get back P82 million grabbed by the State. On November 4, the beleaguered businessman successfully persuaded the Lobatse High Court to return P82 million in cash seized by the Office of the Receiver on behalf of the State.

The funds belonging to some of the companies Seretse owns and also include his personal money.

However, following the order by Lobatse High Court Judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe, the State refused to do so, forcing Seretse to apply for contempt of Court. The State then countered his contempt of Court application with a stay of execution one. While Seretse had urgently wanted his money back on account that his businesses have been severely y crippled, pp , while his livelihood and that of his co-shareholder, Mogomotsi Seretse have grinded to a halt by the unlawful retention of their properties, he has had to wait as the case encountered delays. The matter was first scheduled to be heard on November 13, 2020, but was postponed after Seretse’s attorney, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae was reported ill. The judge then set the hearing of the matter for November 20, 2020. It was yet again postponed to December 8, 2020 for status update.

This week, both parties agreed that the Judge should decide the matter over the filed heads of argument and dispensed off oral arguments to avoid further delays.

Justice Ketlogetswe is set to deliver ruling on the matter on Tuesday, December 15. In his application for contempt, Seretse argues that the State was in contempt and that its expressions of goodwill run contrary to the logic and message of its own actions especially that its conduct undermined the rule of law and the authority of the Judiciary.

Seretse said the State was behaving criminally by holding on to property that does not belong to him in the name of such being proceeds of crime.

“I deny that the properties involved are proceeds of crime. On the contrary, it is the State that seeks to steal from us. The government’s very criminal and it is the government that should be undergoing a criminal trial. Same seeks to deny civil liability for its actions by making purely civil transactions for which it is liable, criminal,” he said.

However, the State has maintained that there was no wilful disobedience of Justice Ketlogetswe’s ruling, which compelled it to release Seretse’s money.

The State said there is a civil forfeiture application before Gaborone High Court Judge Godfrey Radijeng, which, if the stay of execution application is not granted, may render Justice Radij jeng’s gp proceedings g void thereby, y, bringing disrepute to the entire Judiciary.

“The judgement of November 4, 2020 is a live matter at the

Court of Appeal, and implementing it would render the

Court of Appeal proceedings nugatory, thereby bringing disrepute to the entire Judiciary,” argued attorney Tshiamo Rantao on behalf of the

State.