The legal battle involving Capital Management Botswana (CMB) and its directors, Rapula Okaile and the late Timothy Marsland, has resumed in court. Okaile faces a staggering 61 charges, ranging from theft by agent and money laundering to obtaining property by false pretenses and corruption, all linked to the alleged misappropriation of millions from the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF).
At this week’s arraignment, the prosecution disclosed that alongside CMB and Okaile, three additional entities under Okaile’s control, Capital Management Botswana Fund 1, Tunosant (PTY) LTD, and Warentebo Investment (PTY) LTD, are also implicated in the charges.
Defense attorney Dr. Obonye Jonas informed the court that Okaile has submitted an application for a permanent stay of prosecution. Dr. Jonas contended that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has inflicted an unreasonable delay in advancing the trial. The charge sheet alleges that the 61 offenses occurred between October 2016 and December 2017.
In response, the prosecution insisted that arguments for a stay of prosecution should only proceed after all charges have been formally read to the accused. The court accordingly scheduled the hearing of this application for May, mandating both parties to submit their detailed arguments within the next two weeks.
Significantly, count 16 intertwines this case with former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Carter Morupisi, who is currently serving a prison sentence. The corruption charge specifies that Okaile and Marsland, through a South African firm, Manor Squad Services (PTY) LTD, allegedly bestowed Morupisi with a gold Toyota Land Cruiser valued at R630,988.99. This gift purportedly served as a reward for Morupisi’s approval of a contract between CMB and the BPOPF, executed without a final board resolution and during a court-ordered suspension of board activities.
Moreover, count 45 accuses the defendants of obtaining property by false pretenses. It is alleged they defrauded Bona Life Insurance of P133,500,000.00 by deceitfully assuring CEO Regina Sikalesele-Vaka that the funds would be invested on the company’s behalf.
Concerning the money laundering allegations, the prosecution asserts that the accused transferred millions through multiple accounts at First National Bank Botswana, First Capital Bank, and several international banking institutions.
The case is set to return to court in May. Meanwhile, Okaile has been granted conditional bail set at P10,00