13 Apr 2021

The High Court in Gaborone on Monday learnt that in his 37 years tenure as a  public servant, Carter Morupisi has never owned a vehicle worth declaring to the employer. 

Giving unsworn evidence before Judge Mokwadi Gabanagae, Morupisi said he was aware of the standard practice that public servants must declare goods that they had acquired while exercising their official duties. 

“As a public officer, I had never owned a vehicle that was worth declaring to my superiors. 

All of the nine personal vehicles that I had owned while a public officer, including the Landcruiser, which is the subject of the court proceedings, were purchased through funds from my personal savings,” said Morupisi.

Giving clarity on how he acquired the Landcruiser suspected to be proceeds of crime, Morupisi said towards the end of March 2017, he learnt of a South African company selling a second hand TOYOTA Landcruiser. 

He said upon enquiring, the company selling the vehicle appeared to be Manor Squad Services. 

“I got their contacts from one Rapula Okaile and that is when I started talking to them and finally reached a sale agreement, which was signed on April 26, 2017,” said Morupisi.

Morupisi said he purchased the vehicle in question for his wife, Pinny Morupisi’s company, R7 Group. 

“She is the sole director of the company. 

The company did not have enough funds to purchase the said vehicle, therefore I signed the sale agreement with Manor Squad on their behalf and started paying the agreed bi-annual installment of R40 000,” he said.

 He said after completion of the sales agreement, the vehicle was registered on May 15, 2017, and that one of the requirements of the sale agreement pending finalisation of the payment was that the vehicle must not go beyond the district (Gaborone) where it was registered.

Morupisi further indicated that the first installment of R40 000 was paid to Manor Squad Services from his FNBB savings account on January 29, 2018. 

“The total value of the vehicle was R630 988. 99, which included other charges such as customs duties,” he said. 

Giving a justification on his source of finance, Morupisi revealed that the funds in his FNBB savings account and Barclays (now ABSA) current account that was used to pay for the vehicle were from varied sources being his monthly salary and pension as he retired from public service on February 28, 2013, Botswana Life Savings Policy, which paid out P403 787 upon maturity.

He said another source of income was perdium fund for official external trips. 

“Unlike domestic travel funds, any savings made from external trips were non-refundable,” he said. 

Morupisi has also told the court that following the Presidential Directive CAB 5B/2017 dated March 16, 2017, authorising public servants serving in Parastatal boards of directives to be paid sitting allowances, unlike the previous arrangement where their sitting allowance was remitted to the government consolidated fund, he started making extra income.

“I was paid sitting allowances by the Debswana Board of Directors, Defence Council, and Judicial Service Commission from April 24, 2017 to April 24, 2019. 

I also chaired the Botswana Team negotiating the Diamond Sales Agreement between Botswana and DeBeers Company. I am also a member of the Motswedi Savings and Cooperative Society. I had a Botswana Savings Bank (BSB) fixed deposit savings account, which matured in June 25, 2019,” he said.

In addition, Morupisi said after retiring from the public service, he was paid his gratuity. 

Following his retirement, Morupisi said he was employed on a contractual basis as Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) and Cabinet Secretary. 

As a result, Morupisi said he was paid gratuity and leave days upon completion of his contractual terms as PSP, with the first two-year term ending on February 28, 2015, and the last ending in February 2020. 

“Other sources of funds were sales of agricultural produce from livestock and crops,” said Morupisi. Morupisi has confirmed to the court that he has never received any funds from sources outside the country.  

Relating to the frequent installments that were made on the purchase of the vehicle and therefore clearing the debt way before the agreed payment plan, Morupisi said based on the numerous sources of funds previously alluded to, it never came as a shock that he was able to achieve such feat. 

On skeptics of the vehicle in question being second hand, Morupisi concurred that indeed the vehicle was a second hand. 

He said the vehicle was first purchased by Manor Squad Services, a South Africa-based company in December 2016, and ultimately sold to R7 Group in May 2017. “I, therefore, confirm to the court that I bought the vehicle as a second hand,” he said. 

Morupisi also dismissed prime allegations from the prosecution that he was given the Landcruiser as a reward for awarding Capital Management Botswana (CMB) a tender as Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) equity fund managers. 

This is a case involving former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Carter Morupisi, R7 Group and Pinny Morupisi. The first accused person, Morupisi is facing two counts of corruption and is also on another count, jointly charged with R7 Group and Pinny Morupisi on a count of money laundering.

On the second account, Morupisi faces a charge of corruption, contrary to sections 26 and 36 of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act. Ends