Responding to allegations that former G4S Nigeria Limited managing director Percy Raditladi threatened G4S Botswana Limited to issue a cautionary announcement on January 7, 2014 alerting shareholders relating to the attachment of 70 percent shares held by G4S plc in G4S Botswana, Raditladi has in turn accused Michael Kampani of betrayal.
Seventy percent of G4S Botswana shares were attached and placed under control and supervision of Master and Registrar of the High Court in a December 10, 2014 order granted by Lobatse High Court judge Justice Shakes Busang.
The shares were placed under control and supervision of the High Court following an application by Raditladi seeking permission to effect service on G4S Plc, G4S International Employment Services Limited, G4S Secure Solutions (SA) (Pty) Ltd, Group $ Securicor Nigeria Limited, G4S Nigeria Limited, G4S Secure Solutions (Nigeria) Limited and┬áG4S Botswana Limited for enforcement of specific performance agreement that the respondents had putatively repudiated consequent to his termination of employment as G4S Nigeria’s managing director in December 2011.
In his urgent application seeking rescission of the December 10, 2014 order attaching and placing G4S Plc shares in G4S Botswana under control and supervision of the Botswana High Court, Kampani alleged in his court papers that Raditladi threatened “G4S Botswana to immediately and undue haste publish the fact of the order that had been obtained on┬áex parte┬ábasis against G4S Botswana and before it had been afforded an opportunity to properly consider the matter the matter or take legal advice. Kampani further averred that there was no satisfactory explanation for the applicant’s conduct.
In his answering affidavit, Raditladi explained that he is the former managing director of G4s Botswana where Kampani was his former subordinated who assumed his office when he left for a stint under G4S in Nigeria.
Regarding the events relating to the alleged threat deposed to Kampani, Raditladi said he initiated a meeting with Kampani in “view of our close relationship”.
“After an initial telephone conversation with the deponent I went to his office; by agreement; and when I arrived at the office I found him being served. Faced with that fact, I decided to leave whereupon the deponent telephoned me to come back to his office. I responded to his invitation and went to his office and what occurred was a casual discussion with no threats at all”, deposed Raditladi.
He urged the court to understand that when he joined G4S Botswana in 2008, he found Kampani being the acting managing director, cum finance director.
“We became very close and in 2009 his wife died. When his wife was hospitalised at the Gaborone Private Hospital, I was there praying every day. On the night that she was transferred to Johannesburg, I was with the deponent and we followed the Medical Rescue International ambulance at night with him to the airport.
“I personally lent the deponent a lot of emotional support during his time of bereavement, which support extended to my recruiting members of my own family, such as my cousin Mrs Tsetsele Fantan, to also help. I went so far as to attend the deponent’s late wife’s funeral in Malawi. On a more material level, I supported and assisted the deponent within the 7th┬áRespondent. I recall, for example, that at personal risk to my own position as the 7th┬áRespondent’s Board of Directors were against this, I replaced the Toyota Aventis he had been using with a Mercedes Benz C200 as I felt that that this more befitted his office” answered Raditladi adding that his friendship with Kampani blossomed up to the day he left G4S Botswana for a bigger role in G4S Nigeria until he came to Botswana after terminating his employment with G4s Nigeria.
According to Raditladi’s answering affidavit, the duo lent each other support in times of need as the time progressed and thus “when present difficulties commenced, I found myself in a position where I discussed the same with deponent on a personal level, even though he is an employee of the 7th┬áRespondent. Not being desirous to compromise the deponent, I will not reveal our many discussions related to my present dispute in detail.
“I will also not reveal other internal matters related to the 7th┬áRespondent where I lent my material support to the deponent at his request, for the same reasons. It was not surprising in my view, that I would also visit the deponent to advise him that I was pursuing the present litigation once it had become clear that service was going to be effected on the 7th┬áRespondent. In light of our personal relationship, I did not wish him to learn of the events herein from someone else. I also had the same sentiment with respect to my cousin, the chairperson of the 7thRespondent whom I telephoned to advise of the matters in issue herein. It was in the above context that, after I returned to the deponent’s office, I frankly, confidentially confessed to him that I had received an email from my legal practitioners advising me to the Court Order herein on the Botswana Stock Exchange so as to ensure that the attachment herein was secure”, said Raditladi adding that his intention was to sleep on the matter and make a final decision.
Raditladi futher alleges that after he had left, Kampani telephoned him and requested him to forward him the email from his lawyers so that he could advise himself of his own position. Promising that he if he did, he would not share such email with anyone.
He said unsuspicious of Kampani’s intentions, he ended up sending him a short message service (sms) advising that he was driving but would send the email when he got home.
To buttress, his point Raditladi annexed to his answering affidavit a screenshot of his mobile phone showing that Kampani initiated the request to him the email he had received from his lawyers.
He concluded that should it become an issue during the proceedings, he reserves his right to seek his mobile records for the day in issue from his cellular telephone provider although that would require a prior court order being obtained.
“The upshot of my above averments is that it was the deponent who initiated my email to him and not otherwise, with him having used our personal friendship backed by an understanding from him that what I sent to him would be kept in confidence”, deposed Raditladi adding that he was betrayed by somebody he regarded as a personal friend.
