Prison warder Akofang Moasetso, the man at the center of a corruption case against Francistown lawyer, Tiro Mothusi, has resigned from his duties as of this year.
A phone call to the prison where an officer who declined to be named did confirm that Moasetso, until recently stationed at Serowe Prison, had left.
”Moasetso is no longer working here and I do not know where he is,” said an officer at the Serowe Prison.
When asked if he knew why Moasetso had left, the officer said, ”You can ask him that question.”
Moasetso has, during the case in which Mothusi and another lawyer, Hebert Sikhakhane, are facing corruption charges, given evidence supporting Mothusi’s version of events that took place at Francistown Central Prison in a morning court session only to change that version after the lunch break.
It is alleged that he was detained after the morning court session and possibly forced to change his statement during cross examination.
Moasetso was in the past reported to the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime for having taken money amounting to P6000 from a serving prisoner by the name of Gift Julius, who is serving a prison term in Francistown, promising Julius that he could speed up his application for appeal.
Afterwards, Moasetso is reported to have changed the story telling Julius that he could no longer do that for him because he was to be transferred to Serowe. The matter was then reported to the DCEC, who have in the past confirmed that the matter had been reported to them but declined to say whether they would investigate the matter as they had to study the case first before making conclusions on whether or not to investigate.
Sources, however, say that the man was at one stage interviewed by DCEC officers but could not say whether any charges had been brought against him.
Recently, Gaborone lawyer, Ookeditse Maphakwane, confirmed that they had attached Moasetso’s Hilux vehicle in order to recover the money he owed Julius. Maphakwane also confirmed that Moasetso had told him that he had left his employment at the prisons but that he did not disclose the reasons for doing so.
