Brigette Motsepe’s sidekick, Malcolm X offered to help World Oath partners to raise money for their legal battle against the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS).
The South African wheeler-dealer who has been slapped with travel restrictions by the Botswana government alongside Bridgette Motsepe for sponsoring an attempt to unseat President Mokgweetsi Masisi also promised World Oath partners R 7 million, South African citizenship, permanent jobs and a life in the upmarket Sandton suburbs.
Sunday Standard has in its possession a whatsApp message from Malcom X to Temo Tau and William Mabengano in which he promised “to raise funding for your case with Will against DIS at al and whoever would be a respondent in the case.”
Malcom X further promised to “arrange a permanent engineering, IT & forensics job for you and Will in South Africa (SA). However, during lockdowns, you may continue working from Botswana and only move to SA on permanent basis as Botswana does not allow a dual citizenship between the two neighbours.”
Mabengano and Tau however to their credit turned down the offer. The pair who have had a stint in South Africa first came into contact with Malcolm X through their business partner Frederick Mathibe who was also Bridgette Motsepe’s close associate. Mathibe, who rechristened himself Jamal Jefferson Mathibe is in partnership with Mabengano and Tau at Noroc Technologies South Africa.
Jamal Mathibe and Malcolm X were part of Bridgette Motsepe’s close circle of associate that was backing the plan to oust President Masisi. Jamal and Malcolm X were also part of Bridgette Motsepe’s entourage that flew in Patrice Motsepe’s private jet on the controversial trip to Victoria Fall on the eve of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) special congress where Masisi’s presidency was to be challenged. Also, in the private jet were Tati East former Member of Parliament Samson Guma Moyo and Prevailing Securities MD Shaduff Baitse who were also backing Masisi’s ouster.
Jamal and Malcolm X sat in a number of secret meetings between Bridgette Motsepe and former President Lt Gen Ian Khama. He however fell out with Motsepe following suspicions that he was leaking confidential information that was published in the Sunday Standard on the eve of the Botswana general elections.
Jamal also fell out with Tau and Mabengano after cheating them out of proceeds from a job they did for the Gauteng Municipality. He is currently doing time in a South African prison for allegedly forging South African identity documents.
As part of his strategy to win Tau and Mabengano over, Malcom X in his whatsup message stated that, “ I have been speaking to our brother Will about the following: money owed to you by Jamal, the power of attorney Jamal offered me to settle all his debts from the proceeds of the Dainfern Cluster and Porsche he asked me to sell. They’ll collectively fetch around R 7 million……… From the money owed to you by Jamal you’ll be in a position to buy or rent a prime property in Sandton. Your CVs will be required for potential employers, including descriptions of what you are able to do or have been doing in your field.”
Sunday Standard investigations have further turned up information that besides Bridgette Motsepe’s associate, the World Oath case has also attracted a number of local intelligence and political players who are trying to use it to settle political scores.
It has further emerged that contrary to earlier insinuations, William Mabengano never forged the World Oath powers of attorney. Like Temo Tau, Mabengano never authorized Lerumo Mogobe law firm to write a letter of demand to the DIS. Sunday Standard investigations have further revealed that Mabengano actually accosted the Lerumo Mogobe Law firm attorney Tsholofelo Mvungama and threatened to strangle him for writing the letter and making false claims on their behalf.
Mabengano has confirmed the incident to the Sunday Standard and was unhappy that World Oath is being used by the media, a faction of the DIS and other political interest in an information campaign to support a narrative that Botswana elections were rigged.
“I have made it clear to everyone that we never planned to rig the elections, the job we did had nothing to do with the elections. We also never did anything illegal. All our assignments were legal. We are not thugs or criminals. All the work we do is legitimate. Even the invoices we issued to DIS did not come up to P15 million, in fact they did not even make P 5 million. I think someone is trying to use us to extort money from the DIS. But the media is not writing this, you guys are sweeping this information under the carpet because it discredits your narrative that the elections were rigged and dirty”, he said.
Mabengano also confirmed the Watsup message from Malcolm X and revealed that they have also been approached by a faction of the DIS and a former Minister who offered to help them fight the DIS.
While Mabengano who comes across as more credible is new to the spotlight, Tau and Jamali on the other hand first made headlines when they fought the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), former DIS Director General Isaac Kgosi and businessman Monty Chiepe after the 2014 General Elections.
The pair also filed a law suit against the Botswana Gazette after the newspaper published an article in which Chiepe accused them of cyber-crime.
Chiepe, who was a business partner with the Noroc Technologies duo Temo Tau and Jamal allegedly fell out with the pair when they tried to take the BDP to court for failure to pay them for services rendered in the run up to the 2014 elections.
According to court records, Chiepe also clashed with Noroc Technologies over the P 1 billion safe cities tender for the supply of Botswana cities’ surveillance equipment. Noroc Technologies took Chiepe to court claiming that he raided their offices and unlawfully seized their computers on the authority of former DISS Director General, Isaac Kgosi.
An affidavit deposed by Jamal stated that, “during the raid, respondent pointed out in clear and unequivocal terms that he has been instructed by the Director General of DISS, Mr Isaac Kgosi, to persuade us to return the BDP information which is in our possession and further to take away” Noroc Technologies property.
Court records further state that Chiepe also allegedly said Kgosi had told him that Noroc Technologies was a threat to his company winning the P1 billion police tender for safe cities. “We were made to believe by the respondent (Chiepe) that the director General of Intelligence Services has an interest in the company we were competing with for the police tender being Defence Concepts (PTY) LTD.
Defence concepts was one of the preferred suppliers of DISS and had been given tens of millions of pula worth of tenders by the spy agency under Isaac Kgosi without going through an open tender process. The company was investigated alongside the DISS director General by the Ddirectorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the case is currently gathering dust at the Directorate of Public prosecutions (DPP).
Defence Concepts had partnered with feather Brook an Israeli company for the safe city project, Noroc Technologies on the other hand had partnered with Mer systems another Israeli company while moonstone had partnered with Huawei from china.
Contrary to Jamal and Tau’s claims, the safer city tender was not given to Defense Concepts, but to Huawei from China.
