The High Court in Francistown is expected to adjudicate in an explosive case in which bidders who won a tender to run the country’s lottery license are engaged in a bitter boardroom brawl with one of the former directors’ Percy Raditladi being hauled before the Court.
The matter which expected to open a can of worms after Raditladi had written to among others Botswana Stock Exchange, Gambling Authority and other shareholders of the company that won the license identified as Grow Mine Africa Botswana complaining about he perceived as violation of corporate governances standards.
Implicated in Raditladi’s letter of complaint is Sefalana Managing Director, Chandra Chauhan who is also Grow Mine Chairperson. Raditladi has since resigned from the company as its director.
Grow Mine Africa is cited as the Applicant and Raditladi as the Respondent. In his founding affidavit, Chauhan demands that Raditladi hands over all documents, but not limited to invoices paid, contracts, bank statements, deposit books, cheque books, both old and new and all other documents belong to the company.
Chauhan also seeks an order directing Raditladi to handover all copies of correspondence files and communication between it and third parties, all copies of the submission bid to the Gambling Authority including but not limited to hard drives.
“In the event that the respondent fails, refuses or neglects to handover the above referred items to the Deputy Sherriff f this Court be and is hereby authorised to confiscate the said items and hand them over to the applicant,” Chauhan states.
He also demands that Raditladi be interdicted, restrained and prohibited from destroying, tempering with or copying in whatever form or manner, any of the company’s property in his possession and that he be restrained from disclosing confidential information such as client’s lists, strategic plan, know-how, technologies, marketing strategies.
‘On 28th October, I requested the respondent for urgent reasons to provide me with Grow Mine Documentation within his possession and instead of providing me with the documentation, he dictated terms upon which would release some of the documentation and not all of it,” said Chauhan.
He added: “I must point out that the respondent has no right or entitlement to place a caveat on release of Grow Mine documentation to me as shareholder, director and chairman of Board.” Chauhan further stated that “the respondent by letter dated 4th November 2020 through his lawyers Ngakaagae &Co. effectively refusing to accede to the applicant’s request.
The applicant through its attorneys of record and in an attempt to avoid litigation again gave the respondent an opportunity to voluntarily surrender the applicant’s property by letter dated 4th November 2020 which was ignored by the respondent.” Initially Raditladi had written to Chauhan promising to send him some of the documents belonging to Grow Mine Africa. But court records suggest after consulting his lawyers, Raditladi had a change of heart. According to a letter dated 4th November from his lawyers, it states that; “We advise that we are taking instructions on the matter and on the demands by yourselves, Client shall revert when fully advised of matter arising from your correspondence in any case, by the 12th November.”
The lawyers concluded that; “we regret that in the interim your demands cannot be met.”
