The former Director of Roads Department and seven other seven suspects were arraigned before the Gaborone Village Magistrate Court, accused of defrauding the Roads Department of close to P5 million.
The Department of Roads falls under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
A warrant of arrest may be issued for another alleged accomplice who is suspected to be in Tanzania.
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) has completed its investigations that commenced almost three years ago and has charged eight suspects that include the former Director of Roads, Thomas Moilwa, Zebras Construction {PTY} LTD, represented by Aristaric Urio and Paul Lyimo as directors and in personal capacity, Wallah Investment {PTY} LTD, Tumaini Maliti, Gosiame Letsatsi and John Khumalo.
According to the first count, the state alleges that the accused persons, sometime in March 2009, conspired to defraud the Ministry of Works and Transport by fraudulently and unlawfully amending approved requests by the ministerial tender committee for the appointment of Zebras Construction to do emergency works between Kopong and Bokaa Road, to wit, three culverts and two drifts at an estimated cost of P1.4m by unlawfully amending such an approval for the construction of sixteen culverts at a cost of P4, 966, 922, 27 whilst they knew that such scope of work and cost had not been approved by the tender committee.
In the second count, the accused, Moilwa is accused of abuse of office by deliberately flaunting the procedure of the tender process in abuse of his authority by recommending to the tender committee that there be emergency works of installations of three culverts and two drifts along Kopong-Bokaa roads and that work was awarded to Zebras Constructions.
There are four counts in all.
The spokesperson of DCEC, Lentswe Motshoganetsi, said the sixth accused person did not appear before the court because his whereabouts are not yet known and he had not be served with a summons but is believed to be in Tanzania.
Motshoganetsi was reluctant to comment whether the DCEC had recovered any of the monies during its investigation.
“I am not at liberty to discuss that in the media,” he said.
The accused persons are expected to appear for the next mention on the 27th of this month when they will take a plea.
