Gaborone Chief Magistrate Lot Moroka is tomorrow (Thursday) expected to sentence the Former Executive Chairman of PPADB (Public Procurement ands Asset Disposal Board) Armando Lionjanga.
This comes after Lionjanga was he convicted of a single corruption charge.
He was accused of having sat in a meeting in which PPADB adjudicated a tender in which a close relative was a contender.
Court records show that Lionjanga failed to disclose his interests as required by law.
Pleading for mitigation, Advocate Sidney Pilane who led the defence team said a former Permanent Secretary Lionjanga had been a public servant since the 1970s.
Advocate Pilane also asked the court to be lenient as he was a first offender, adding that his client had a chronic disease (blood leukemia) which needs specialist treatment.
Mr. Pilane said his client was unlikely to get the necessary treatment if given a custodial sentence.
The court also heard that the treatment that Lionjanga needs is not even available in Botswana and as such had to frequent South Africa for treatment.
His next appointment with the doctor is January 26.
The accused’s wife, Tefo Lionjanga also gave evidence on behalf of the husband and confirmed that his condition needs constant monitoring.
A specialist doctor from Gaborone Private Hospital, Dr. Joseph Kasisi corroborated the above facts.
Asked if the disease was curable, Dr Kasisi said no. “It is not curable, just controllable under extreme medical guidance.”
When asked how he felt, Lionjanga said he always had general fatigue.
