Kgosi fights back

Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DIS) Director General Isaac Kgosi is threatening legal action against Botswana Gazette for publishing a series of stories that he received P 4 million worth of shares from Choppies without a thebe from his pocket. Chibanda Makalemele & Co, the law firm acting for Kgosi also took issue with the Gazette for referring to Kgosi’s company, Silver Shadow as a briefcase company. A transcript of the DCEC interview with Kgosi, which is part of docket referenced DOC/IF/2011/001166 (27) opened by DCEC relating to its investigation against Kgosi, however confirms that the DIS director general did not pay for the shares and presents Silver Shadow as a briefcase company. In a curious deal, Kgosi told the DCEC that he did not pay for the shares and he agreed with Choppies management that they will get their money from dividends accruing from the shares. It also emerged during the interview that Silver Shadow was just a shelf company bought to hold shares acquired from Choppies. Kgosi did not even remember the name of the company when quizzed by DCEC. Below is an excerpt from the interview between Don Mackenzie of DCEC (DJM) and Director General Kgosi (DGK) DJM ÔÇô Right now I just ask about the private company that you have shares in, what…. would you say private company DGK ÔÇô I hope you don’t ask the name of the company, oh my I would have to do the thing I can’t remember the name DJM ÔÇô Now when you said it’s a private company is it you own company or is it? DGK ÔÇô What happened is I bought, when I started buying shares from the secretary, my secretary, my company secretary I said rather than opening the account in my name open the account in the company name and as I don’t use it every day, that’s why I can’t remember the name DJM ÔÇô We have been told about a company called Silver Shadows DGK ÔÇô Yep, that’s the one, that is the first one The DCEC then quizzed Kgosi on how he acquired the shares and he went on to explain the darling deal he got from the Choppies management. Kgosi’s lawyers have given the Gazette five days to pay P 2 million in damages and to retract all three articles. DJM ÔÇô And where did the money come from to buy shares? DGK ÔÇô I, I you see when you are given shares you pay when you earn dividends, I pay back what I owe from the dividends DJM ÔÇô From time to time you have paid those DGK ÔÇô Whenever I am given dividends I pay party of that back to the company where I have shares. DGK ÔÇô I don’t get what you are trying to say, I… I got shares from you yah and then whenever these dividends are paid to me I pay back to the parent company a certain amount that we have agreed on DJM ÔÇô That we have agreed on, who is we? DGK From the parent company that I got dividends from where I bought the shares from. DJM ÔÇô I am sorry that I am struggling to understand this DGK ÔÇô No the thing is , let’s say you have shares, you are selling shares yah, and then I said OK, I want so many shares from you yaah and then you said OK you have so many shares we agree that whenever I receive dividends from you I have to pay back for my shares. OK and then whenever I receive a certain amount of dividends a certain amount of money I pay back to you, I pay back a certain amount of money DJM ÔÇô Because the shares that you have you haven’t actually paid for? DGK ÔÇô Fully paid for DJM – fully paid for, so it’s not really generating any income it’s just bit by bit paying off the amount that is owed for the shares that have been obtained DGK ÔÇô Yes DJM ÔÇô What does it have shares in? What sort of companies, a number of companies or just one company? DGK ÔÇô It really, it is one company, two companies, one is a toilet paper company and one is a shop ÔÇô Choppies DJM ÔÇô So Silver Shadows has shares in these two companies? DGK ÔÇô Yep DJM ÔÇô Those shares have been partially paid and as dividend arise that money goes back to pay for the shares, but you are able to draw out of Silver Shadows because it has money in its bank account? Does that mean not all money is going back to pay for the shares? DGK ÔÇô Yes not all money is going back because it was not an agreement that we have reached between myself and Choppies.