ZCC Botswana takes Lekganyane to court
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ZCC Bishop; Barnabas Lekganyane
Some members of Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in Botswana have this week dragged the church together with its Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane before High Court for breaching the church constitution.
According to court papers seen by Weekend Post, the church members basically seek the court to declare that the church have violated their governing constitution and further to compel them to comply with it.
The church members being Tshiamo Tladi, Khumo Gaorengwe, Mogomotsi Bogosi, Stanley Lejone, Daniel Mathibe, Lesetse Koothawo, Mmusi Moeng, Mmatli Lopale, Lebogang Bose, Faneck Bareki and Tony Joseph contend categorically that whereas the constitution is a supreme governing document binding the church and its members – it is however continuously dishonoured.
“The church members (applicants) have come to court contending that the church is not living up to the dictates of its constitution and set out fully the circumstances that show that the church is wanting, in its compliance with its constitution,” the 11 church members state in the court papers before Justice Michael Mothobi of Gaborone High Court.
For example, they allege that since the constitution was adopted in 2009, there has never been an Annual General Meeting (AGM). They also contend that the church, much against the constitution, has since 2009 failed to appoint a Minister to run and head the church in Botswana.
According to the court papers, the church members also contend that the power to appoint the Executive Council rests with the Minister. However, they assert that since the church has never appointed anyone to this position, then the Executive Council unconstitutionally came to being.
“They further contend that the church is operating without putting in place some of the structures it undertook to have in place. For instance, Clause 27 provides for the Women’s Committee and Clause 28, provides for the Property Committee and these committees are not in place and have never been in place,” they state.
The Applicants have also submitted that as members they are entitled to participate and vote at AGM and in the absence of any such meeting they are consequently deprived of the opportunity to shape the direction of the church.
“The Applicants also contend that they do not know how church monies are used as financial accounts are not presented at any AGM as there is no AGM.”
The 11 church members maintain in court papers that the legal rights infringed vary from denying the members the opportunity to vote at AGMs by not holding any AGM, and Section 2 of the Church’s Constitution shows that the church is a church of members, and not just one person.
According to the ZCC members, the failure to hold AGM’s tempers with the governance of the Church and with the opportunity for the members to input in the shaping of the church’s future. In addition they say it also limits transparency in relation to the Church’s financial standing.
“The failure to appoint a Minister has stagnated the existence of a lawfully appointed Executive Council which is only to be appointed by the Minister. The failure to appoint such a Minister has left unanswered question on the members of the Botswana church, which uncertainty has left the church in a state of crisis. As a result of this, the Church is being run from the outside as no one is clothed with ministerial powers in Botswana.”
According to the papers, in terms of the Clause 13.1 (a) of the church Constitution, the Minister is vested with the power to appoint an Executive Council for running of the Church. The 11 members insist that: “as the Minister has not been appointed, it is unclear who appointed the current Executive Council, hence our submission that the existing Executive Council is not properly in office and has been appointed unconstitutionally.”
Bearing this in mind, they submit that the past decisions made by the current Executive Council be reviewed as they came into office unconstitutionally.
Under the Constitution, they say provision is made for the establishment of certain committees which, to date, have not been created. It is in the interest of the member of the Church that these committees be established in the interest of the growth and maintenance of the Church, they posit.
“We accordingly submit that the ZCC members before court have shown that their rights have been violated and that the reliefs they seek are justiciable. The prejudice suffered as a result of not holding AGMs, appointing a Minister and some structures has also been adequately explained. Eg, no accountability, no clear leadership and no structures in place to deal with fundamental issues affecting the church membership.”
This being said, the members explain that the next logical step would be to seek an order before this Honorable Court that a new Council be appointed. Stemming from this, they also emphasise that another logical step would be to seek an order that all the decisions made by the current Executive Council be subject to review, not by the court but by the church itself.
ZCC failed to file heads of argument to respond and instead wanted to deal with the points of law. The parties agreed to and drafted a consent order while the arguments in the matter were postponed after August since a new case was filed and therefore needed to be attended first.
Church member files new application saying constitution in question is fraud
Church member, and a lawyer has filed a new application stating that the 2009 constitution currently in use by local ZCC – and the subject of the dispute – is just a fraud and was not duly registered at Registrar of Societies.
He stated that the constitutional violation matter does not therefore hold water as it is based on an “illegal constitution.” According to Jost Isaacs in his head of arguments, the 2009 constitution is not valid nor authentic while the 1994 one is the one presently applicable.
The parties will argue the matter of authenticity of the constitution first on 19th August 2016 before the one on its violation.
ZCC was represented by South African Advocates Soraya Skhassim (SC) and Lenette Pillay while attorney Uyapo Ndadi stood in for the other 11 church members.
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Mascom, Letshego partner to deliver the MyZaka instant loan
Letshego Botswana has recently partnered with Mascom to launch the Mascom MyZaka Instant Loan, a customer focused mobile money microloan service designed to provide customers with swift and convenient access to funds, driven by the underlying theme of “Ithuse” meaning “help yourself”
The loan is said to have been developed through a partnership driven by a deep customer focus with the key objectives of access, convenience and flexible financial support to customers of Letshego Botswana and Mascom through instantly disbursed short-term loans from P50 to P1 500 over the period of one month.
Letshego’s head of transformation, Molebogeng Malomo highlighted that working through agile methodologies, the partnership was able to develop and be released as what they call a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or solution. “In keeping up with the spirit of design thinking and agile methodologies, the experiences and viewpoints of both Letshego Botswana and Mascom’s customers will be valuable to inform further enhancements to the Mascom MyZaka solution,” he said.
He further noted that the partnership and the development of the MyZaka instant loan will provide both the organizations to diversify their offering and customer base, while also offering the customer more choices and flexibility to initiate and be in control of their loan requests through the self-service mobile based application.
Mascom’s Chief Executive Officer, Dzene Makhwade-Seboni also alluded that their origins, priorities and initiatives are firmly rooted in Botswana and in the success of all Batswana, and that their strategy and intent is supported by embracing innovative problem-solving.
“The speed with which Letshego has grown over the years gives us confidence that we have partnered with the right service provider. Their expertise and most of all, innovation, a value we both share, will be beneficial to MyZaka Mobile Money for growth and for the convenience of our subscribers,” she concluded.
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DCEC granted warrant to arrest Khama twins
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) has been granted permission to apprehend the former Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama, and his twin brother Anthony Khama.
Information gathered by this publication suggests that the DCEC is actively searching for the Khama brothers, this is in connection with events that transpired whilst Tshekedi was Minister of Environment. The duo is currently in exile in South Africa together with their elder brother, and former President Lt Gen Ian Khama.
Approximately two weeks ago, the corruption-busting agency discreetly filed for an arrest warrant that was approved by the Broadhurst Magistrate Court for the two to be taken into custody, according to a highly placed source within the government enclave.
DCEC is also said to have filed an affidavit signed by a high-ranking officer known to this publication. Reports indicate that after being presented with details of the case, the Broadhurst magistrate issued the agency an arrest warrant.
It is also believed that the agency has been conducting extensive investigations into the supposed suspects for quite some time. Furthermore, Weekend Post has it on good word that the DCEC has been looking for methods to summon the two for questioning but has been unsuccessful.
According to unconfirmed reports, DCEC met with attorney Victor Ramalepa, who refused to accept the summons, saying that he is not their attorney. Furthermore, it is believed that DCEC has enlisted the assistance of the Botswana Police Service (BPS) in flagging the suspects’ names in the International Criminal Police Organisation INTERPOL.
Responding to WeekendPost enquiries, DCEC spokesperson Lentswe Motshoganetsi said, “I am not in good position to confirm or deny the allegation,” adding that such allegations may fall within the operational purview of the DCEC.
When contacted for comment, Ramalepa briefly stated that he is unaware of the purported arrest warrant. “I know nothing about the warrant and I haven’t been served with anything,” he said.
Meanwhile, former president Lt Gen Ian Khama recently issued a statement stating that DIS is intensifying the harassment and intimidation of him, family, friends and office employees.
“It is reprehensible for state officials and agencies to abuse government resources to terrorise their own citizens for personal gain,” said the former president in a statement.
He also stated that his brother TK’s staff and security were ordered to falsely implicate him. “Their desperate tactics will never work, it only serves to motivate me more to pursue regime change and free Botswana from tyranny,” he said
This comes after the corruption busting agency wants to interview the alleged suspects as they are still hiding in South Africa since last year.
Despite the hostility between government and Khama family going unabated, last month, Masisi extended an olive branch to Khama in political rally, indicating that he hopes the two of them settle their differences, of which the former responded by welcoming the gesture.
Khama further said his brother, Tshekedi, will facilitate the reconciliation of his behalf. Many have indicated that Masisi did not say what he said in good faith, and was only scoring political brownies since he was in Khama’s territory in Shoshong.
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DCEC’s Tshepo Pilane still has his mojo
Tshepo Pilane silenced his critics after being named the head of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) in May of last year and served his opponents humble pie. Many believed he would only last for a month, but almost a year later, he is still standing.
Pilane, a trained soldier whose appointment surprised both the general public and some officers within the DCEC walls, has never glanced back in his duty to steer the DCEC ship forward.
It is alleged that immediately after his appointment the man embarked on a nation-wide trip touring the DCEC offices across the country in order to confirm and reaffirm the DCEC’s mandate. Sources from inside the DCEC claim that Pilane won the hearts of many DCEC employees due to his humility and plain message; “people at the top of the DCEC will come and go but the mandate of the DCEC remains relevant and unchanged.”
Pilane was appointed the Acting DCEC Director General at a time when the organisation was undergoing turbulence through court proceedings in which the suspended Director General Tymon Katlholo had interdicted the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) from accessing the DCEC premises. At the time, the DIS had raided the DCEC offices in the absence of Katlholo claiming to be looking for high profile corruption cases allegedly held by Katlholo.
At the time Pilane was Head of the DCEC Intelligence Division holding the position of Senior Assistant Director General reporting directly to the Deputy Director General Operations Ms Priscilla Israel. Contrary to his detractors, Pilane who is a reserved and humble person by nature won the support and backing of many DCEC officers due to his unassuming nature.
In a recent questionnaire sent to the DCEC regarding Pilane’s term in office, the DCEC was resolute on its commitment towards the fight against corruption. When quizzed on allegations of rife corruption since he took over, Pilane through his Public Relations (PR) office stated that the corruption landscape in Botswana remains unchanged as the DCEC continues to receive reports on allegations of corruption with sectors such as procurement (tenders and supplies), Transport (licensing and certificates), and land (dubious allocation and collusion) still leading issues reported. This trend has been consistence in the DCEC database for more than 10 years.
When further quizzed on accusations that suggest that due to the infighting at the agency, particularly at the top management, Investigations of cases has dropped significantly the DCEC claimed ignorance to the matter, stating that they are not aware of any “infights” at the DCEC “at the top management”, further stating that, investigations of cases has increased significantly, contrary to the allegations raised. “The DCEC is currently seeking new ways of expediting the investigations in order to fast track its enforcement role,” said the DCEC Head of Public Relations Lentswe Motshoganetsi. He further stated that the DCEC is in pursuit of high profile cases involving money and assets valued over P900 million. Three companies are involved in the scandal and two cases have already been committed to court while on one, investigations are about to be completed.
When WeekendPost inquired about Pilane’s roadmap, the DCEC stated that in the past, anti-corruption interventions were reactive, particularly in dealing with national projects that involve large sums of money. It was further started that in most instances investigating such matters takes a long time and in most instances, the money looted form Government in never recovered. As a result, the DCEC has taken a deliberate stance to attach its officers from the Corruption Prevention Division to be part of the implementation of these projects before, during, and after implementation.
The DCEC cited the Economic Stimulus Programme which, although meant to grow the economy and uplift Batswana from poverty, yielded incidents of corruption and poor workmanship. To date, the DCEC is still grappling with cases as some projects were not done, or were completed with defects beyond repair. Currently the DCEC is involved at the Ministry of Education conducting project risk management in the Multiple Path Ways Program at Moeng College and Maun Senior School. This intervention will spread to other sectors of the economy as part of the DCEC’s corruption prevention strategy.
Of recent, the DCEC has been in the media for all the wrong reasons following leakage of high profile cases and allegations claiming that the executive management is at war with each other more particularly with some within the agency harbouring ambitions to dethrone Pilane from the Directorship.
Although the infighting was denied by Pilane’s Office, he acknowledged that leakage of information is a problem across Government and stated that it is a pain at the DCEC. He however stated that Staff has been cautioned against leakage of investigation information and that they have roped in the Botswana Police to assist in investigating incidents of leakage. He further stated that they have increased continuous vetting and lifestyle audits for DCEC employees in order to enforce discipline.
Pilane’s term comes to an end in May 2023 after serving the DCEC for a year on acting basis. It will be in the public interest to see who will be given the baton to continue the anti-corruption journey if Pilane’s contract is not renewed. The DCEC has seen arrival and departure of Director Generals having alternated the top seat five times in less than seven years.