Gaborone Village Magistrate Lenah Mokibe Oabile has postponed to December 7, 2011 a case in which two Chinese nationals, Xiaoxing Qui, the General Manager of Whitacon Company, and Xiaming Wang, the manager of China Civil Engineering.
The two are facing corruption charges.
The postponement was granted after Mpho Mmolainyana of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had told the Court that they were not ready to proceed with the case as they still had to substitute the charge before the court with a new one.
Mmolainyana also told the Court that the investigations into the matter are still ongoing and that the investigating officer has requested more time to wrap up his investigations into the matter.
Responding to Mmolainayana’s request, Unoda Mack, one of the defence lawyers, Unoda Mack, said that whilst they accede to the prosecution’s demand for another postponement of the matter , they were concerned that the case against the accused persons was moving very slowly.
Mack said this was putting more burden on the accused persons as they are business people and are not able to move freely as they have surrendered their travelling documents to the authorities.
The two are alleged to have attempted to influence Carter Morupisi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, by giving him P500,000 to assist them in the matter of the construction of Shakawe Senior Secondary School.
They were given bail by Lobatse High Court judge Lot Moroka after several attempts had failed in the Magistrate’s Court.
Their bail conditions were set at P300,000 each, provide two sureties of binding themselves with P100,000, surrender their travelling documents and to report to either Broadhurst Police Station or Central Police Station on Mondays and Fridays.
