17 Feb 2020

Suspended Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Carter Morupisi and his wife Pinny, whose bail had been revoked, had their liberty restored by the Gaborone High Court yesterday.

  Justice Gabriel Komboni  granted the couple bail after they were briefly jailed following the revocation of the initial bail by Gaborone Chief Magistrate Linah Mokibe-Oahile earlier in the day.

Their new bail conditions including binding themselves to the sum of P10 000 each, not to interfere with state witnesses; not to commit or be reasonably suspected to commit fraud and to attend court as and when they are asked to.

Morupisi’s legal team had lodged an urgent application for bail with the high court subsequent to Magistrate Mokibe-Oahile revoking their initial bail conditions when she sent the case to the high court for trial in accordance with Section 96 of the Criminal Procedures and Evidence Act.

Magistrate Mokibe-Oahile had pronounced before the Broadhurst Magistrate Court that with the state ready to commit to trial and the accused having been served with all the requisite documentation and Section 96 of the act satisfied, the matter could proceed to the high court for trial.

As a matter of procedure, Morupisi and his wife would be committed to prison and  that if they sought bail afresh, they would have to lodge the application at the high court.

Morupisi’s legal team promptly lodged an urgent application with the high court which was heard the same day.

The suspended PSP arrived in a prison van, handcuffed but had his liberty restored after the successful application.

The couple’s attorney, Busang Manewe told the high court that the initial bail granted by the Broadhurst Magistrate Court last September was revoked by not because of any wrongdoing on the applicants’ part but due to court procedure in satisfying Section 96 of the act.

Since there had been no new offence and the application was not opposed by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Manewe said there were sufficient grounds for bail.

DPP’s Omphemetse Makale confirmed to the court that they had no opposition to the bail application since the previous bail had been revoked only as an operation of law.

Giving his ruling, Justice Komboni said he acceded to the bail application since the applicants and the respondents agreed on the matter.

Morupisi is facing charges of abuse of office, receiving a bribe and money laundering, with the particulars of offence being that on November 11, 2014, as Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) board chair, acting without the board’s authority, signed a contract authorising Capital Management Botswana (CMB) to administer BPOPF funds.

He is also alleged to have signed a contract with CMB on behalf of BPOFP on May 11, 2017 and acting together with his wife, received on behalf of her company R7 Group a Toyota Land Cruiser pickup van.

Further, Morupisi and his wife are also alleged to have laundered proceeds of crime  amounting to  R630 988 (P462 260). ENDs