AN EXPENSIVE P200 MISTAKE
Bye-law officer found guilty of corruption
A former bye-law officer found guilty of accepting a P200 bribe will find out on Friday if his sticky fingers have earned him a place behind bars.
49-year-old Gabriel Setomba’s troubles date back to December 2016, when, while on duty, he imposed a P1 000 fine on the owner of Maun-based Lafoxy Bar for operating after hours.
The next day, Setomba called up the bar’s owner, Itumeleng Kelebetseng, to arrange a meeting at Lafoxy. Once there, he reportedly asked for four bottles of beer but, when Kelebetseng refused, Setomba suggested he hand over P200 cash in return for making the P1 000 charge sheet ‘disappear’.
Asking for time to think on it, Kelebetseng, who is also the Councillor for Boseja South, approached the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) for help. Between them, they set up an undercover op.
The sting was carried out on 19th January, 2017 with Kelebetseng and Setomba again meeting up. Moments after they parted, DCEC officers swooped on the suspect, catching him red-handed with the P200 bribe nestled comfortably in his pocket.
Finding the accused guilty of corruption by a public servant, Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalo noted all the evidence pointed to Setomba’s guilt.
The magistrate dismissed the former bye-law officer’s defence that he had gone to the bar to innocently ask for drinks, noting the two men were virtual strangers who hardly knew each other.
Begging to be spared jail, the father-of-four insisted he had already suffered greatly, having been sacked over the incident, and seen his good name dragged through the mud.
“I pray for a non-custodial sentence as I have already been punished enough by losing my job. I have four children who solely depend on me as their mother is in no position to take care of them,” pleaded Setomba, who remains out on bail until Friday’s sentencing.
His woes could just be starting as he has been found guilty of a misdemeanor which, worst case scenario, carries a possible tenyear jail sentence; a hefty price to pay for a P200 note!