15 May 2019

Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe of Lobatse High Court will on May 23 deliver judgement on the matter between suspended Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) president Ms Masego Mogwera and the union’s acting president Mr Olefile Monakwe.

Ms Mogwera, together with Martin Gabobakwe, Tlhabologo Galekhutle and Otto Itumeleng, filed an urgent application two weeks ago challenging their removal from the board of directors of Babereki Investments by some BOPEU executive committee members. Babereki Investments is a subsidiary of BOPEU.

Through their lawyer, Mr Busang Leburu, the quartet asked the court to declare as unlawful and set aside their removal from the board.

They also pleaded with the court to declare that they are board members of Babereki until they have been lawfully removed.

The case was postponed because the defence lawyer, Mr Gabriel Kanjabanga asked for time to prepare the defence. When the matter was finally heard on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Kanjabanga made a special plea of arbitration in order for the defendant to talk the matter with the applicants.

However, the applicants’ lawyer opposed the request and pleaded with the court to continue with the matter without further delays.

Making his submissions, Mr Leburu argued that the four applicants were unlawfully removed from their positions as board members of Babereki.

He said the constitution of Babereki Investments was clear that board members could only be removed at a shareholders’ meeting, which is either the AGM or special general meetings, which should be convened by the board.

Mr Leburu further said the meeting where the four were removed was neither an AGM nor special meeting, and was also not convened by the board.

He said BOPEU executive committee members could not meet and take decisions on behalf of Babereki Investments. Mr Leburu further said the accusations of dishonesty and fraud against the second and fourth applicants were unfounded.

Mr Kanjabanga however said the matter should be dismissed on the basis that the four applicants could not claim to be representing the interests of Babereki, which was cited as the first applicant in the matter, because they were no longer board members of the company. He also said Mr Leburu had no power of attorney to act on behalf of Babereki. He said on that point alone, the ‘rule nisi’, which was granted to the applicants two weeks ago, should be discarded.

Through the ‘rule nisi’, the court declared as unlawful the removal of the four applicants from directorship of Babereki and ruled that they remained Investments board members, until the case was settled in court.

Mr Kanjabanga further said the applicants did not have prima facie rights to be directors of Babereki. He argued that there was nothing stopping the shareholders from removing the four applicants from the directorship of the company.

Justice Ketlogetswe then set May 23, at 9am, for judgement. ENDS