- DPP says law enforcement agencies cannot account for Hubona’s actions or omissions
- Plaintiff s say they were all part of the P100bn looting probe
TEFO PHEAGE
The Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) and the Botswana Police Service cannot be held to account for Jako Hubona’s actions or omissions in his controversial affidavit alleging that P100 billion was stolen from the Bank of Botswana, the Deputy Director of the DPP, Pricilla Israel, has deposed in court papers.
In her defence of a suit by the accused – former president Ian Khama, former director of DISS Isaac Kgosi, senior DISS agent Welheminah Maswabi and South African business woman Bridgette Motsepe – the DPP has deposed in this way:
“The the DPP, DISS, DCEC and the police cannot be vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of Jako Hubona when they are not his employers. The plaintiff has not set out the words alleged to have been said by the DPP, DISS, DCEC and the police which are defamatory to her. The framing of the charge sheet by the second defendant (the police) does not in law constitute a basis for liability for defamation on the part of the second defendant (the police).”
But the plaintiffs suing for defamation hold that the DPP, DISS, DCEC and the police worked jointly and produced the findings leading up to Hubona’s contentious affidavit. In its papers, the DPP admits that the investigations were conducted by the four institutions as claimed by the applicants Khama, Kgosi, Maswabi and Motsepe.
However, the DPP argues that “participating in or supporting investigations, as alleged, does not in law form a basis for liability for defamation on the part of the defendants”.
The DPP gave the state two weeks to have exempted the four institutions from the suit, failure of which the DISS, DCEC, the police and itself will approach the court to be heard first on these arguments.