STICKY FINGERS?
One of the most vocal lawmakers, Ignatious Moswaane has been caught stealing from the estate of his late son, Kagiso Moswaane, depriving his four-year-old and two-year-old grandchildren provisions after promising to take care of them.
Moswaane, who has carved himself out to be the voice of the voiceless by calling out alleged corruption and ills that are rife in government is also Member of Parliament for Francistown West.
The Commissioner of Botswana Police Service has been directed by the High Court of Botswana to carry out investigations to see if Moswaane or family members of the late Kagiso Avenell Moswaane have committed the offence of giving false information to a person employed in the Public Service (the Registrar of Deeds) and any other offence or offences.
The High Court has stated that upon the completion of the investigation, the commissioner is to dispatch the docket to the Director of Public Prosecution for him to decide whether or not to prosecute anyone.
Kagiso died from COVID 19 in March 2021. He did not have a will. High Court documents show that his father made a false declaration that Kagiso did not have children.
It further states that the title deed MA1180-21 for lot 8884 in Tlokweng which belonged to the late Kagiso Moswaane was fraudulently and falsely registered in favour of Igatious Moswaane after misleading the Attorney General that his late son was not survived by any children at the time of his death.
Moswaane is ordered to pay any costs associated with restoration of title to Lot 8884, Tlokweng to the Estate of the late Kagiso.
In addition, Kagiso’s sister Lebogang Moswaane has been directed to restore shares and directorship of the entities/companies Geo Desk (Pty) LTD and Bradley Motors (Pty) Ltd to the deceased's name within 14 days of the order.
Lebogang has also been ordered to cease any management and control and operating the bank accounts of Geo Desk (Pty) LTD and Bradley Motors (Pty) Ltd.
Moswaane promised shortly after his son's death in an interview with The Midweek Sun that he would take care of his grandchildren and open a trust for them in the future.
Lillian Griesmeir, the mother of the late Kagiso's girlfriend, said the case has emotionally affected her daughter.
Griesmeir said in an interview that her daughter and grandchildren depend on her and what the Moswaane family has been doing is heart-breaking. Griesmeir said it has not been easy to take care of her child and grandchildren since her business was hard hit by COVID.
She is however hopeful that the law will take its course and things will run smoothly as the courts have ordered the Moswaanes’ to return the things they took back to the estate of the late Kagiso.
Griesmeir said Moswaane as a Member of Parliament and a national leader should be the one who is leading and guiding the family in this difficult time. Kgomotso Tshetlho, the mother and guardian of the children could not be reached for comment.
Moswaane on the other hand told The Midweek Sun this week that it does not make sense for him to discuss the matter in public because the family is still mourning the loss of his son, adding that his son was not a sole proprietor as he did everything under the appointment of his parents - that is, Moswaane and his wife.
However, he said he is open to any investigation against him.
“KG did not own the business, he was appointed by me and my wife since I was 100 percent involved in politics,” Moswaane said, adding that what belonged to his son is also his.
Moswaane said that as a politician and businessman, they took a decision to transfer ownership of the companies over to the children so that he does not become politically exposed.
Moswaane said when he signed the transfer documents he did not read the whole documents because both of his eyes were operated on, therefore, he failed to read the contents. He said that the transfer was done in 2020 while his son was still alive.
Therefore, he was just completing what was already in process, as the contested lot was to be transferred to one of their family companies and he changed the ownership to his name first, as land cannot be transferred by a dead man to another entity.
Moswaane said that his grandchildren need his protection and he will do everything in his power to make sure that they live a decent life.
He explained that the disputed Tlokweng plot was bought not by his son's personal funds but by Geo Desks company funds. Soon after his son is said to have signed an affidavit of transfer of the lot and before he could finalise the change of ownership, he passed away.
Moswaane said he is not an evil man that is fighting to take away from anyone. He does not have a problem with his grandchildren but his only problem is with their maternal grandmother.
“I am fighting for my grandchildren,” Moswaane said, adding that one day they will realise that he had their best interest at heart as he is trying by all means to ensure that the lot in Tlokweng is not included in the estate of his late son as there are many debts that the companies owe.
“Montsamaisa bosigo ke mo leboga bo sele,” Moswaane said, stating that at the end of the day both he and the mother of his grandchildren want what is best for his son's children. The difference is that they are going about it in different ways but they will one day realise that he had no ill intentions.
“Before KG died, I reported that he was given an injection without his consent,” Moswaane said, further adding that his son sent text messages to some of his friends indicating that he does not want a private doctor to come to Sir Ketumile Hospital.
Moswaane claimed that his son died after being attacked by an unknown doctor, two days after he was discharged from hospital. He had doubts that he died from Covid-19.
He revealed that there was a lot of shady activities happening around the time of Kagiso’s death which raises their suspicion about the true cause of his death.
“I opened a case in 2021 in April, police were given KG’s phone possessing information which was sensitive,” he said, adding that Botswana police have not got back to him to date.