… as court convicts Morupisi for accepting a bribe from them
TEFO PHEAGE
Following former Permanent Secretary to the President, Carter Morupisi’s conviction for corruption and money-laundering, questions are emerging about the freedom of former honchos at Capital Management Botswana (CMB), Tim Marsland and Rapula Okaile, who were displayed as accomplices in Morupisi’s commission of crimes.
Legal experts say a conviction of bribery should affect and incriminate both or all parties, the briber and the bribed, and that the state should now pursue the other party or parties based on the court’s findings in Morupisi’s case.
In its court papers, the state said Morupisi never declared that he received a vehicle from Manor Squad Services whose directors were Okaile and Marsland who were also directors of CMB, a company that was bidding for management of BPOPF investments. The court agreed with this view.
The charges and the conviction
Morupusi has been convicted on several charges and will be sentenced next week. It is said that while serving as a public officer holding the position of Board Chairperson of Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF), Morupisi, without a final resolution of the board and in abuse of public office as Chairperson of BPOPF, whilst the board was on suspension, corruptly signed a contract with CMB on behalf of BPOPF authorising the former to administer BPOPF funds as private equity managers and in the process obtained valuable consideration for himself and his wife’s company.
Morupisi was also accused of authorising CMB to administer BPOPF funds as private equity managers without a final resolution of the board, and that acting together with his wife in her personal capacity and her capacity as Director at R7 Group, on or about 15 May 2017, received valuable consideration to wit, a Land Cruiser valued at P630,988.99 for himself and his wife’s company.
Another charge was that Morupisi received and converted to personal use a Toyota Land Cruiser pickup bought in South Africa by Okaile and Marsland’s company whilst he knew or had reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that the said car was derived or bought in whole or in part directly or indirectly from commission of the offence, to wit corruption by a public officer.
DPP non-committal
Speaking to journalists this week following Morupisi’s conviction by Justice Chris Gabanagae, state counsel Kentse Molome said she was not in a position to state whether Marsland and Okaile would be charged, saying maybe they are still under investigation.