A sleuth engaged by former Debswana Managing Director Balisi Bonyongo hacked his successor, Albert Milton’s computer and stole his cellphone as part of an official investigation.
The illegal intrusion into Milton’s privacy is revealed in court papers in which the investigator INFOTRAC has filed a law suit, demanding P100 million from Debswana for services rendered.
The investigation initiated by Bonyongo was allegedly to stop Milton from ascending to the Debswana top post.
It an intriguing twist in the tale, Albert Milton allegedly won Infotrac and its Managing Director Mompoloki Motshidisi to his side by promising them millions of Pula as inducement for them to falsify findings of Bonyongo’s investigation against him.
As a result, the late Albert Milton was promoted to Debswana Managing Director following Bonyongo’s retirement.
When Milton took over as Debswana MD, he engaged INFOTRAC in an illegal spying operation so secret that no one outside his tight knit group knew about it.
Sunday Standard investigations have turned up information suggesting that this was a text book intelligence black op with plausible deniability. There is no documentation on the operation, all agreements were made by handshake and no one outside the rogue unit can speak authoritatively about it.
The cloak and dagger operation is now unraveling into a PR nightmare and an industrial relations hot potato. It has even emerged that Milton was aware that the operation was outside the law. Court records reveal INFOTRAC which is locked in a P100 million legal dispute with the mining giant was briefed that the clandestine operation should be carried out behind the back of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS).
Court documents by INFOTRACT state, “ furthermore we are also required by your client to ensure that the DIS does not come to know of the procurement and supply of the spy equipment because that may have raised questions of breach of national security given that Debswana does not have authority for procurement of such equipment.
“Needless to say we delivered the equipment, your client demanded that INFOTRAC must use wrong narration/ and or description, issued our invoices and were duly paid. The purpose of this narration was to avoid the workers union finding out about Debswana strategy of spying on them.”
The scandal over the Debswana rogue spying operation snowballed into an industrial relations controversy last year with the Botswana Mining Workers union (BMWU)accusing management of dishonesty.
The union issued a statement that it was in possession of information indicating that on or around September 2018, Debswana had surveillance spy equipment installed at its premises and in vehicles with intention to spy on staff, especially members of the BMWU.
“The union is thus outraged that Management would sanction such illegal means to secretly pry on the affairs of its staff and union members at the workplace. The union is of the opinion that there has been material breach of the industrial relations between BMWU and Debswana Management,” BMWU said.
INFORTRAC is now suing Debswana P110 millions for services rendered. Debswana on the other hand has distanced itself from the operation stopping short of dismissing it as rogue.
The diamond giant cited as the defendant denies that it is indebted to INFOTRAC.
In another twist in the shady tale, former Permanent Secretary to the President, Carter Morupisi has deposed a sworn statement in support of the claim by INFOTRAC.
Morupisi who was Chairperson of the Debswana board has emerged as Infotrac’s star witness.
The witness summary statement as it relates to Morupisi states that he was Board Member of the Defendant (Debswana) at the time.
“At some point he was the defendant’s Board Chairperson and at some other time the Defendant’s Deputy. He was aware of the Plaintiff’s (Infotrac) engagement, because the Plaintiff through Mompoloki Motshidi, did complain to him about payment delays regarding the grievance, in this matter,” the court records show.
According to the court records, “This witness (Morupisi) did communicate with the management of the Defendant (Debswana), among others, Mr. Albert Milton, who indicated that they were aware of the services that the Plaintiff had rendered and that they were arranging payment.”
The court records go on to point out that, Morupisi, “was aware that the Plaintiff’s assignment was a top secret one, based on national security interests as perceived by the Defendant and the government at the time, and that there was nothing untoward about the same.”
Perhaps what is expected to provide juicy details into behind the behind the scenes goings-on at the Debswana top floor is testimony that is expected to be led by the company’s Head of Legal, Ludo Tema.
In a witness summary statement on behalf of Debswana, Tema will
testify that following a tip off made to Debswana tip offline in December 2017, Infotrac was engaged to investigate the allegations made in the tip off to prepare a report on its finding into the allegations.
“The witness provided legal advice around how the investigation can be done and assisted in setting the Scope of the Services to be rendered by the Plaintiff,” the witness summary states.
It further states that, “The Defendant’s Managing Director (Mr Balisi Bonyongo) intimated to the Defendant’s Head of Audit (Tshego Modise) that he had concerns and misgivings about the report and this was communicated to the witness by Tshego Modise.”
The document says that Tema had no involvement in the investigation or the report until Modise made a comment to the witness that Bonyongo had some concerns regarding the investigation.
“Following that comment, the witness was approached by Mpho Kewakae (then an employee of the Defendant in its security division) who informed the witness that the investigation had been completed and the Plaintiff’s Managing Director, Mr Mompoloki Motshidi wanted to discuss the highlights of the report,” reads the witness summary in part.
It says Tema was invited to the meeting and invited Modise to discuss the concerns made to her by Bonyongo.
Tema, together with Modise and Kewakae attended a meeting with Motshidi at Falcon Crest in Gaborone, the court records show.
“At the meeting, the Plaintiff’s (Infotrac) Managing Director made an informal presentation on the plaintiff’s investigation techniques and methodology allegedly used in the investigation and findings,” the witness summary states.
It says Motshidi informed those present at the meeting that Infotrac “had “hacked” the Defendant’s (Debswana) computer system to obtain information from (the late) Albert Milton’s electronic communications and had misappropriated (the late) Albert Milton’s cell phone in order to obtain information from the cell phone.”
The witness summary says Tema will testify that she expressed her “concern at the methodology allegedly employed by the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s alleged investigation technique which she viewed as unlawful, if not illegal.”
The court documents state that Modise shared (and) expressed her concerns about the methodology as well.
“The witness (Tema) will testify that in the event that the Plaintiff needed access to either the late Albert Milton’s laptop or cell phone, this could have been arranged lawfully,” the court records show.
According to the court papers, “The witness (Tema) will testify that the attendees at the meeting representing Debswana did not comment on or seek to influence, the substance of the investigation nor the report of the investigation.”
