The Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) Bruno Paledi has said that more people would be charged in the National Petroleum (NPF) case.
The case which is currently before the court saw the accused persons’ lawyer Kgosiitsile Ngakaagae accusing the state of instituting trumped up charges against his client to the exclusion of top civil servants.
In an interview, Paledi indicated that the number of the suspects implicated in the case is likely to increase but declined to elaborate further.
He vowed to investigate and prosecute anyone who is engaged in corrupt practices regardless of his or status in the society.
On other related issues, Paledi, said the so called “big fish cases” will come before courts.
Paledi said he is aware of pending cases that are believed to be of public interest about which members of the public have expressed concern that nothing is being done about them.
“At the moment I am not at liberty to disclose the number of such cases but there is a good number of them,” he said.
Paledi said together with his team they are currently reviewing those cases as well as other cases that have never been reported in the media.
He added that all cases reported to DCEC are equally important and are given the attention they deserve.
He said corruption in the country is complex but the DCEC is equal to the challenge.
He further said nowadays the amended DCEC Act allows the corruption busting agency to trace and freeze anything believed to be proceeds of crime.
When asked about former Director of Security Services Isaac Kgosi’s docket, Paledi said the case was still on their radar adding that he was not sure when the director would be arraigned before court.
He stated that the public should know that investigating corruption is not as easy as the public may think and such investigations in their nature are complex.
Paledi rubbished allegations suggesting that he was appointed as a “gate keeper” to protect former president Ian Khama‘s administration.
“I was not appointed to protect anyone but simply to do DCEC mandate,” he said.
He revealed that he was not a personal friend to the former President Khama instead they had a professional working relationship since the time he was a Vice president until he left office in April as a President.
He stated that his office is impartial as it does not allow political interference adding that DCEC is an independent body and he has “not even once received any interference either from the current president or Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP).
