The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lawyers Bogopa, Manewe, Tobedza & Co have slapped Alliance for Progressives (AP)’s 2019 general elections council candidate Mogalakwe Mogalakwe with legal fees amounting to almost P400, 000.
The bill is in respect of his elections petition trial challenging results of the 2019 national elections.
The Moralane Ward (Shoshong) council candidate had launched a petition against the BDP and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
Mogalakwe was one of the handful petitioners that made it to trial during mass protests against the 2019 elections results by mainly the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). Most of the petitions particularly those challenging parliamentary results were dismissed on preliminary points and failed to go to trial.
Mogalakwe’s P400K legal bill is in relation to the main trial at the High Court which Mogalakwe lost with costs. The fees do not include those from an expedited appeal against the High Court ruling.
Those charges, Sunday Standard has learnt, have yet to follow. The IEC lawyers Minchin & Kelly have yet to serve the AP candidate with their own legal bill in relation to the petition.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph has learnt the Deputy Sheriff in charge of executing a writ of execution against UDC candidates on behalf of the BDP lawyers has most recently attached motor vehicles belonging to former Gaborone Bonnington South candidate Ketlhalefile Motshegwa.
Deputy Sheriff Urgent Chilisa is reported to have attached three motor vehicles believed to be properties of the former UDC parliamentary candidate. Motshegwa becomes only the fourth candidate to have their movable property attached following that of Dr Mpho Pheko, Nelson Ramaotwana, and Dr Micus Chimbombi.
Pheko’s motor vehicle has already gone under the hammer as the Deputy Sherriff seeks to raise the P565, 000 CoA legal fee excluding his own costs for the execution.
The 15 petitioners have reportedly been avoiding contact with the Deputy Sheriff since the writ was issued.
Consequently, lawyers Bogopa, Manewe, Tobedza & Co wrote letters of demand to their UDC counterparts Ramaotwana Attorneys and Toteng & Company demanding payments of P175, 000 and P200, 000 respectively in respect of bonds made in support of their clients (UDC petitioners).
The BDP lawyers made reference to Court of Appeal (CoA) costs in the sum of P565, 000 which the petitioners had undertaken to have paid by September 16, 2020.
The letters of demand followed the two law firms’ Bond for Security of Costs filed before the CoA in January 2020. Both law firms were given until the end of (Monday February 15, 2021) to have paid the money failing which Bogopa, Manewe, Tobedza & Co wrote they would take legal action against them.
The expectation was that if the two law firms failed to pay, the BDP lawyers would apply to the Registrar for a writ of execution to run parallel to that of the petitioners.
Basimane Bogopa, partner at Bogopa, Manewe, Tobedza & Co refused to comment on the latest developments following the February 15 deadline they had imposed on the UDC lawyers. “Please refer your enquiries to our client (BDP),” he insisted.
