Defence lawyers acting for former Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Ndelu Seretse, are frustrated at the lack of progress in getting their client acquitted.
On Monday morning, a bitter war of words erupted between the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the lead defence attorney, Parks Tafa, of Collins Newman & Co.
Tafa said there is every reason to believe DPP wants the case to drag on for as long as possible.
This was after the DPP attorney, Rahiman Khan, had asked the Gaborone Regional Magistrate, Barnabas Nyamadzabo, to stay the case until the Court of Appeal had disposed of an application by the state.
Tafa told the court that DPP is worried that their first two witnesses so far called have not helped the state in its endeavour to get Seretse convicted.
“Records will bear us out that DPP has always been very uncooperative ÔÇô right from the beginning,” said Tafa, referring to what he called delaying tactics by the DPP against even getting by refusing to furnish the defence with documents that the court had ordered.
The Senior Partner at Collins Newman says right from the beginning, DPP, who he accuses of abusing their power, have sought to find one excuse after another if only to delay Seretse’s case.
“Typical of them, they want to throw another spanner into the works, to find another roadblock so that the case may not proceed,” said Tafa, referring to DPP’s application for postponement.
He dismissed the call to await the outcome of the Court of Appeal as yet another “fanciful, academic voyage” by DPP.
“If anyone wants to see justice being done, it is you my Lord,” he said, saying to the Magistrate “who despite being put to the test through so many frivolous applications, you still maintained your patience,” said Tafa.
At this point, it had become abundantly clear that the case that has been hanging on his client for close to two years now was also weighing down badly on the lawyer.
“DPP should stop pretending they are looking after the interest of our client. We do not need their favour. Why are they concerned of mistrial? They are not paying his legal fees and they also are not sharing the anguish he is going through with a criminal charge hanging on his head.”
Not only did Tafa say the DPP were abusing their powers, he said their behavior bordered on using the judicial system to settle old scores.
He lamented the fact that while trial dates have long been set, the DPP was now “playing games at the expense of the accused”.
The DPP, he said, was in no hurry to see Seretse’s case come to a conclusion.
Referring to DPP’s behavior of repeating themselves as akin to that of a broken record, Tafa said the case should continue and that if DPP walked out he would ask for discharge and acquittal.
“If this behavior can happen in a high profile case in which the accused is a former minister who used to oversee administration of justice, how then about those that are vulnerable and cannot afford Collins and Newman? Is this justice in Botswana? If it is, then some of us do not want to be associated with it.”
On the other hand, DPP hit back by saying from the beginning Collins and Newman lawyers had imagined a charge that was not on the charge sheet which was the reason for their behavior.
In the meantime, the accused stayed stone faced showing no emotion whatsoever.
