The campaign for the embattled Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower has taken another twist, as the contender Alex Monchusi has taken his rival, Lekwalo Leta Mosienyane to court for an outstanding amount of over P1million owed to him.
The incumbent president, Alex Monchusi who is also the Managing Director of Systems and Services Engineers (Pty) Ltd, claims that his rival should be worried that his creditworthiness threatens his aspirations for the position as the BOCCIM constitution does not allow an insolvent member or individual to stand for high office. Monchusi is implying that the suit he has broght up against Mosienyane could lead to backruptcy and insolvence.
“He has a reason to worry about. Your creditors must not take you to court, you have to manage your affairs so that you do not end up in courts,” he told The Gazette.
Monchusi indicated in a letter to Mosienyane that they have worked together on the basis of trust.
“Yet continually you broke each and everyone of your promises and undertakings. You are simply not capable of honouring your own undertakings and promises. You do not work with or relate with others based on expediency, a mercenary and opportunist ready to pounce at the first opportunity of an unsuspecting victim. You have, on several occasions asked for financial help, effectively a bail out, desperate for money to pay salaries and other obligations. I first assisted you (first transaction) on 2nd February 2010. At the time you indicated you were expecting money from government as you had completed work on a major project being construction of Institute of Health Sciences in Molepolole and were expecting money,” states the letter.
He continues to say he was promised to be paid back as soon as the money was paid, which Mosienyane indicated would be within one week.
“But unbeknown to me, thus was the beginning of a chain broken promises or promises never meant to be kept as you lured me into giving you more and more money over a period of 3 years. Now it seems you believe it is time to destroy me and my public standing, by being part of a dishonest public campaign against me.
Lately you have made dishonest public statements aimed at questioning my intergrity as you did at a BOCCIM Members meeting of 30th July 2013, claiming that I had tricked you into declining to run for BOCCIM presidency, when you clearly knew this to be a lie. You were suggesting that my intergrity is questionable in an environment set up specifically to embarrass me and which was masterminded by yourself and others as evidenced by these petitions where you are a signatory. You have thus consistently and actively participated in aggressive attempts to remove me from public office using underhand means, while also trying to cause maximum public embarrassment, all without valid reason,” expressed Monchusi.
In his defence, Mosienyane who was in September 2013 issued with a letter by the High Court for owing Monchusi over P1 million, told The Gazette on Monday that what Monchusi is doing is a desperate attempt to try and twist the members to vote for him so he can retain the presidency. “I have a clean campaign. What he is doing is irrational, defamatory and unfair. We are friends and we are working on some projects together. I am the lead consultant and payments come through me, therefore I have not yet been paid by the client. Then he decided to sue, it is wrong and he is doing this claiming it will help him win the elections. I met my lawyers, however to tell the courts that it is a hoax intended to defame my name and help him win elections,” said Mosienyane.
He emphasised that, “I am not being declared insolvent, I am not bankrupt. Owing somebody does not mean that you are insolvent. Bankruptcy or insolvency is decided completely by other jurisdictions not Monchusi. This is a smear campaign by him which borders on defamation,” he said.