- Wants state to return his property and money
- Says his life is at a standstill because of the state’s failure to pursue his case
- Head of DPP says they are not returning anything to Kgosi
TEFO PHEAGE
In an unusual reversal of roles in which the hunter becomes the hunted, the disgraced former head of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Service (DISS), Isaac Kgosi, is suing the state for failure to prosecute him in a case whereby his property, which the state regards as proceeds of crime, was seized.
Kgosi is arguing that the state’s failure is messing up his life by bringing it to a standstill. In addition to restoring his property to him, he wants the court to rescind and set aside his restraining order.
Through his lawyers, Kgosi has warned the Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Tiroyakgosi, of this suit in a letter dated 27 February 2020 in which he also demands the DPP to “make an application to court for the final forfeiture of his properties within 30 days, failure of which you should restore our client’s properties to him”.
“Should the above not be complied with, we hold instructions to make an application to court for the rescission and setting aside of the restraint order and asking for the restoration of our client’s properties to him,” his lawyers, Thabiso Tafila Attorneys, wrote. “This letter is to be read and taken as statutory notice of turning him into a pauper by seizing his assets and not proceeding to court for a final determination of the matter.”
In an interview with this publication, Thabiso Tafila said the DPP director had promised him that some of Kgosi’s properties would be returned. However, the DPP director has told this publication that they are not in any hurry to return Kgosi’s properties as they are legally in his custody. “We got that through a court order and as far as I am concerned, we are not retuning anything yet,” said Tiroyakgosi who would not say when they are likely to go to court.
The property which was seized 10 months ago, includes a portion 82 of Sentlhane Farm, Portion 83, Lot 61299 Gaborone, a Land Rover motor vehicle registered B 414 AXU, a Landcruiser motor vehicle B 975 BHI, cattle consisting of 200 heifers, 24 Simmental, 36 Brahman white, 1 Brahman bull, 1 Simmental bull, and money amounting to P549,763.07 held in a Barclays Bank of Botswana account number 862411*.
The state took full control and custody of the properties pending investigations and/or institution and finalization of proceedings for a civil penalty order and civil forfeiture order. In their last letter to the DPP director, Kgosi’s lawyers called attention to Kgosi’s pensioner status and resulting inability to meet his obligations. Their client certainly needs to enjoy “the proceeds of his investments which he made over the years when he was employed”, they wrote.
According to the lawyers, several damages have occurred on Kgosi’s farm. These include the fence being damaged by termites, the pool being contaminated and the electricity being interfered with, resulting in it not working properly and the animals that were on the property dying.
Kgosi’s lawyers say their client will “obviously” have to be compensated for loss of his livestock and damage to his farm. “The claim for such damages shall be made after a proper assessment has been made upon finalization of this matter,” they wrote the DPP director.