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Botswana: Fraud Accused Represents Herself
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The Voice (Francistown)
22 April 2008
Posted to the web 22 April 2008
Thamani Shabani
Former Miss Botswana (1999) Alima Anderson has started to cross-examine state witnesses after initially declining to do so because her defence lawyer Mr Joao Salbany pulled out.
She had been advised by the Broadhurst Principal Magistrate, Nehemiah Mugoni to do so. The advice came after Anderson told the court at the beginning of the trial on Tuesday that she could not cross-examine the first witness because she did not know anything about the law.
Anderson is accused of defrauding Kingdom Bank over P523 000 in 2007. The counts, all six, range from forgery, obtaining by false pretences and uttering false information. She only pleaded to five counts and refused to plea to the remaining count.
"I don't know anything about the law and I have been denied legal representation. What else could I do because I feel that Mr Salbany is the best person to represent me", she told the court. Mr Mugoni told her that to refrain from participating in the matter would not help her and that she was allowing evidence that could have been challenged to go unchallenged and at the end incriminate her.
However, the magistrate said his advice should not be misconstrued as putting her under heavy pressure as the choice was hers. She then changed her mind and started cross-examining witnesses.
Earlier on when giving evidence in chief, the Branch Manager of Lobatse Spar Supermarket, Mr Pierre Grobblar told the court that he did not authorized a purchase order of P84 000 which was brought to him by the police during investigations.
Mr Grobblar said the purchase order had a different VAT number from that of their store even though he pointed out that he knew the accused person as a their regular customer.
Mr Grobblar was giving evidence on count two which states that on July last year Anderson intended to defraud Kingdom Bank by inserting in the purchase order the words Biaggi Alliance (PTY) Ltd to buy cooking oil.
Another witness Mr Sunil Vaduthala who works for Green Bull Choppies Cash and Carry as a Branch Manager in Gaborone West Industrial Area said he was also visited by the police who wanted him to confirm a certain purchase order of over P134 from his company.
The witness said the purchase order was not issued by him even though it bore the same addresses that belonged to their shop.
Asked whether he knew a company by the name Cruz Enterprise, the witness said though he knew it, he did not know its owner. He said Anderson used it in many occasions to supply their shop with liquid soap.
Cruz Enterprise, which only deals in the business of selling liquid soap, is one of the companies that Anderson owns. Others are Biaggi Alliance Botswana, Green Glass Botswana and Lalik Holdings. Asked by the accused whether he can still continue doing business with her, Mr Vaduthala said he would because after hearing the allegations of fraud from the police last year, their business relationship never soured and that "you did not do anything harmful to me".
Another witness, the then Branch Manager of Jarapino Ventures Multi Save Super Store (Village Choppies) Mr Harish Kandankiralil told the court that he was visited by the police last year in relation to a purchase order of over P176 000 of cooking oil.
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Anderson said she would reserve other questions for another attorney she intended engaging. The case continues. BOPA
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