COSBOTS board not renewing CEO’s contract

TSAONE SEGAETSHO

The board of the Copyright Society of Botswana(COSBOTS) will not be extending the stay of its CEO Thato Mokobi when it expires at the end of June.
Following a rocky relationship between Mokobi and the board, the society advertised the CEO position last week on a local newspaper. Reports reaching this publication are that the board cannot wait to get rid of Mokobi who has worked with COSBOTS for six years. Board Chair, Prince Monna, told The Botswana Gazette yesterday that they are just following good corporate governance procedures by advertising Mokobi’s position. He however says the latter should feel free to apply if he so wishes.
Mokobi however told this publication that he is not willing to extend his stay at the troubled organization as he believes he has been through a lot. “I won’t extend my contract…I want to complete my contract and move on with my life. I think the board would not want to increase my contract as I have been accused of things like corruption…surely they are not interested in increasing my stay so why should I bother myself?”
The Botswana Gazette has seen documents written by COSBOTS’ Legal Advisor Pearl Mahlala about   royalties a collection contract which raised suspicions of wrongdoing and mismanagement. Recently, this publication received an anonymous leaked email with intention “to expose corruption at COSBOTS.”
A recent scandal to hit COSBOTS under Mokobi is an email leak sent to the media accusing him of tricking Monna (Board Chair) into signing over power of attorney and therefore misleading the courts. A letter appearing to have been signed by Monna from the Industrial Court says “Thato Mokobi in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of COSBOTS, be and is hereby authorized to sign all documents necessary to institute and prosecute the said action.” COSBOTS confirmed to have seen the email leak on the media and told Mmegi newspaper that nothing was done about the leak.