GLOVES OFF
Former teacher Mmaotho Segotso says Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union Secretary General, Tobokani Rari should come out and face her head on, and not hide behind the union.
Segotso is convinced that Rari has developed a habit of using union resources to fight her. This follows a letter written by Ramalepa Attorneys on behalf of Rari, asking Segotso to retract her ‘defamatory statements’ contained in her Facebook post of 5 September 2024.
She has also been instructed to issue a public apology on the same platform where the ‘false claims’ were made.
On the post, Segotso described Rari as a bully who had set himself as Lord over union members. She said Rari was holding office illegally since he is not a government employee and does not appear on government payroll as the union constitution dictates.
She said her claims were supported by the 2022 Court of Appeal judgement in which BOSETU litigated that School Heads, Deputy School Heads, Heads of Department and Principal Education officers holding scarce skill qualifications be paid scarce skill allowance.
“The case was lost on a technicality that Tobokani Rari is not a BOSETU member, doesn’t appear on the government payroll, and therefore cannot represent BOSETU members.
“What this means is that Rari shouldn’t have stood for elections. Something that BOSETU masses called for ahead of the Congress, but Rari showed them and the law the middle finger and stood for elections anyway,” the post reads.
In the letter, Ramalepa Attorneys say that their client denied that there was ever widespread opposition among the BOSETU masses against his candidacy.
The 2022 judgement by Court of Appeal judges Lesetedi, Walia and Garekwe reveals that proceedings of the high court suggest that the affidavit in support of the application was deposed to by the Secretary General of BOSETU.
"He is not a member of the cadre to which the officers belong nor a government employee. No confirmatory affidavits were filed by any member of the cadre of the group of officers in respect of whom the application was brought notwithstanding that some of the averments in the affidavit would have been primarily within the personal knowledge of those officers and have reached the Secretary-General at a secondary level," the statement reads.
This is what Segotso says backs her claims. Rari has been SG since 2011. However, Ramalepa Attorneys dismiss this argument, saying contrary to Segotso’s claims, Rari is a BOSETU member, and the proof was the subscription deduction on his advice slip.
The lawyers say it is not true that the Court of Appeal dismissed the BOSETU versus Attorney General case on grounds that he was not a member. They say the court's mention of his employment status was not the basis for the dismissal of the case.
Segotso also said that the union is run on a fraudulent constitution claiming that Rari has consistently blocked intended amendments, but the lawyers said that matter is currently before the court and Segotso’s comments were inappropriate and prejudicial to the ongoing legal process.
Segotso alleged that BOSETU in 2015 had P56 million in their account but currently, the union is poor, and nobody can account for the millions.
She challenged Rari to produce his government employee payslip and not the one from the union in which Rari pays himself P120 000. But the lawyers insist that Rari is on Secondment and remains a government employee. They also denied that he pays himself P120 000.
According to Ramalepa, Segotso’s claims are defamatory and have caused significant reputational harm, internal discord and operational disruptions within BOSETU.
The lawyers argue that Segotso’s claims portray BOSETU and Rari as illegitimate and corrupt.
“The personal nature of the defamatory statements has caused emotional distress to Mr Rari and other BOSETU leaders, including its president Mr Radikolo.
“Being falsely accused in such a public forum has led to undue distress and reputational harm, affecting their professional and personal lives.”
Ramalepa Attorneys warned Segotso that should she not comply with their demands, they will pursue all available legal remedies, including claims for defamation and damages.
“I will not respond to the lawyer letter, for now, I am still engaging my lawyers on it. But Rari should come out and face me, our differences date as far back as 2015 when I was always writing on their Facebook wall about all the bad things they were doing, they blocked me there,” Segotso said on Tuesday.
Segotso is convinced that Rari has developed a habit of using union resources to fight her. This follows a letter written by Ramalepa Attorneys on behalf of Rari, asking Segotso to retract her ‘defamatory statements’ contained in her Facebook post of 5 September 2024.
She has also been instructed to issue a public apology on the same platform where the ‘false claims’ were made.
On the post, Segotso described Rari as a bully who had set himself as Lord over union members. She said Rari was holding office illegally since he is not a government employee and does not appear on government payroll as the union constitution dictates.
She said her claims were supported by the 2022 Court of Appeal judgement in which BOSETU litigated that School Heads, Deputy School Heads, Heads of Department and Principal Education officers holding scarce skill qualifications be paid scarce skill allowance.
“The case was lost on a technicality that Tobokani Rari is not a BOSETU member, doesn’t appear on the government payroll, and therefore cannot represent BOSETU members.
“What this means is that Rari shouldn’t have stood for elections. Something that BOSETU masses called for ahead of the Congress, but Rari showed them and the law the middle finger and stood for elections anyway,” the post reads.
In the letter, Ramalepa Attorneys say that their client denied that there was ever widespread opposition among the BOSETU masses against his candidacy.
The 2022 judgement by Court of Appeal judges Lesetedi, Walia and Garekwe reveals that proceedings of the high court suggest that the affidavit in support of the application was deposed to by the Secretary General of BOSETU.
"He is not a member of the cadre to which the officers belong nor a government employee. No confirmatory affidavits were filed by any member of the cadre of the group of officers in respect of whom the application was brought notwithstanding that some of the averments in the affidavit would have been primarily within the personal knowledge of those officers and have reached the Secretary-General at a secondary level," the statement reads.
This is what Segotso says backs her claims. Rari has been SG since 2011. However, Ramalepa Attorneys dismiss this argument, saying contrary to Segotso’s claims, Rari is a BOSETU member, and the proof was the subscription deduction on his advice slip.
The lawyers say it is not true that the Court of Appeal dismissed the BOSETU versus Attorney General case on grounds that he was not a member. They say the court's mention of his employment status was not the basis for the dismissal of the case.
Segotso also said that the union is run on a fraudulent constitution claiming that Rari has consistently blocked intended amendments, but the lawyers said that matter is currently before the court and Segotso’s comments were inappropriate and prejudicial to the ongoing legal process.
Segotso alleged that BOSETU in 2015 had P56 million in their account but currently, the union is poor, and nobody can account for the millions.
She challenged Rari to produce his government employee payslip and not the one from the union in which Rari pays himself P120 000. But the lawyers insist that Rari is on Secondment and remains a government employee. They also denied that he pays himself P120 000.
According to Ramalepa, Segotso’s claims are defamatory and have caused significant reputational harm, internal discord and operational disruptions within BOSETU.
The lawyers argue that Segotso’s claims portray BOSETU and Rari as illegitimate and corrupt.
“The personal nature of the defamatory statements has caused emotional distress to Mr Rari and other BOSETU leaders, including its president Mr Radikolo.
“Being falsely accused in such a public forum has led to undue distress and reputational harm, affecting their professional and personal lives.”
Ramalepa Attorneys warned Segotso that should she not comply with their demands, they will pursue all available legal remedies, including claims for defamation and damages.
“I will not respond to the lawyer letter, for now, I am still engaging my lawyers on it. But Rari should come out and face me, our differences date as far back as 2015 when I was always writing on their Facebook wall about all the bad things they were doing, they blocked me there,” Segotso said on Tuesday.
