Reimburse my legal costs - Sebego
The former Botswana Football Association President, Tebogo Sebego has declared his intention to seek reimbursement for legal expenses incurred in defending himself against a case brought forth by the Botswana Football League prosecutor. Despite the prosecutor's decision to withdraw the case, Sebego maintains that the move was prompted by the prosecutor's inability to provide sufficient counter arguments to his points, rather than any legitimate mutual benefit. He has thus asserted that he will pursue the reimbursement of his legal costs.
Sebego's claim follows the Botswana Football League prosecutor's recent withdrawal of the charges against him. Sebego argued that the prosecutor's withdrawal of the charges was due to their failure to sufficiently rebut his arguments. He believes that the withdrawal was simply a face-saving measure for the BFL and has vowed to pursue the recovery of his legal costs, which he asserts are a consequence of the BFL's unjustified prosecution.
The Botswana Football League's Office of the Chief Prosecutor issued a statement announcing the withdrawal of the charge sheet filed against Tebogo Sebego on June 14th, specifying that there would be no associated costs. The Chief Prosecutor cited the evaluation of the circumstances surrounding the allegations made in the charge sheet as the rationale for the decision to withdraw the charges, explaining that this course of action was deemed to be in the best interest of all parties involved.
“The hearing for this case was held on July 2nd, 2024, during which I raised two valid points regarding the jurisdiction of the BFL DC to preside over the matter. Firstly, the same case had already been dismissed by the BFA Appeal Committee, rendering it devoid of any merit for further proceedings. Secondly, the BFL DC's jurisdiction is limited to Member Clubs, Club Officials, and Players, whereas I do not fall into any of these categories. Therefore, the BFL DC lacked the authority to adjudicate this matter,” sebego said.
“The charges against me were rightfully withdrawn because the legal points I raised were insurmountable for the BFL to overcome. It appears as though the BFL had not thoroughly read their own rules, and as a result, they pursued the case based on emotions rather than a sound understanding of the law. I am understandably dissatisfied with this entire ordeal, as it led me to forgo the opportunity to run for BFA President. In effect, the BFL has achieved their objective of keeping me out of the presidential race. Congratulations to them,” Sebego added.
He further emphasized that the BFL DC had been requested to address the legal points he had raised the previous Thursday, but they failed to do so, leading to the withdrawal of the charges. He is planning to pursue reimbursement for the legal costs incurred as a result of being subjected to a baseless legal case that was brought against him based on the emotional reactions rather than the dictates of the law.