By Calistus Bosaletswe
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) is likely to charge expelled ruling party parliamentary candidate, Tshepang Mabaila, for using a fake Clinical Psychology degree certificate.
The fake qualifications misled the crime busting agency into recommend Mabaila for the position of Crime Officer in Ministry of Land Management, Water & Sanitation Services.
The Sunday Standard is informed that the DCEC is also considering charging its former boss Rose Seretse for overruling a recommendation by a panel that Mabaila was not the right candidate for the job.
The DCEC has already approached Seretse to depose an additional statement regarding Mabaila’s unlawful recruitment.
Mabaila’s case was initially investigated by the corruption busting agency under Seretse’s watch in 2016. The DCEC then referred the case docket to the Directorate of Public Prosecution for possible prosecution in 2016 but was curiously not acted upon.
Seretse ordered an investigation into Mabaila’s fake qualification in 2016 after Mabaila confided to the then DCEC Director General that his qualification on which the DECE based its recommendation for his employment was fake.
The investigation was initiated after Mabaila informed Seretse that he used a Degree Certificate from an unaccredited university in the United States of America.
Seretse then ordered an investigation into Mabaila’s qualifications and further advised the Ministry to downgrade Mabaila from C1 scale to C4 scale since his qualifications did not meet the C1 scale.
The case docket was referred to the DPP for prosecution where it gathered dust until recently when DCEC resumed another investigation on Mabaila’s qualifications.
The Sunday Standard has been informed that though Mabaila’s qualifications did not meet the requirements of the position of Crime Officer, he was nevertheless used as the DCEC informer even after being downgraded.
Seretse who recommended him to the Ministry indicated in a statement deposed with the DCEC that she relied on a panel that indicated that Mabaila was one of the candidates who scored the highest marks.
Sources at the DCEC informed The Sunday Standard that there is a likelihood that both Mabaila and Seretse would appear before court soon.
The DCEC is of the view that Seretse who was then the Director General had overridden the decision of a panel that interviewed Mabaila. The DCEC‘s move to charge Seretse was prompted by her decision to recommend Mabaila for the position while the panel had allegedly recommended that he was not fit for the job.
The DCEC decision to reopen the case is likely to see Mabaila being charged for obtaining by false pretence while the former DCEC boss is likely to be charged for overriding panel recommendations.
Seretse confirmed that she was requested by the DCEC to depose a statement relating to Mabaila’s case.
