Lobatse High Court judge, Lot Moroka, has dismissed an urgent application brought before his Court by Gaborone lawyer, Gabriel Kanjabanga.
The application seeks the Court to order that the corruption case against him before a Magistrate Court be suspended pending the hearing of a civil case he has filed in the High Court, alleging that his case was not properly handled by the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Dismissing the application, Moroka said that it does not have merit.
Kanjabanga is facing 10 counts of money laundering and a single count of forgery and obtaining by false pretences. Early this year, he repaid the Southern District Council P399, 500, which he was accused of obtaining fraudulently.
After he had paid back, the Deputy Director Of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Matlhogonolo Phuthego, who is leading prosecution against him, said that they will carry on with the case against Kanjabanga despite that he had paid back the Southern District Council.
After he was charged a few years ago, Kanjabanga challenged the matter in Francistown High Court where he argued, amongst other things, that the state had taken long to bring him to Court and submitted it had infringed on his constitutional rights.
Francistown High Court judge, Mphaphi Phumaphi, however, dismissed the case saying that it was not true that there had been a delay in bringing him to Court. He then appealed to the Court of Appeal which upheld Phumaphi’s judgment.
New trial dates have not been set.
