The criminal case in which Daisy Loo, its managing director Moemedi Dijeng and three GCC employees are accused of conspiring to defraud the city council over P21 million is starting afresh before village chief magistrate Lot Moroka. The other three accused are Joseph Stegling, Gilbert Sithole and Bitsang Abby.

The new case is scheduled for a second mention on the 8th of July (Tomorrow) before the village magistrate court.

Two weeks ago, Acting High Court judge and former regional magistrate Terrence Rannowane recused himself from the case, citing his appointment to the High Court bench as the main reason he could not continue with the case.

Rannowane argued that it was in the interest of justice that the case be given to a different judicial officer because he no longer had powers to act as a magistrate.

The Monitor has been reliably informed that after Rannowane dropped from the case, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Leatile Dambe registered the case afresh and summoned the accused to court for mention the next day. Daisy Loo is alleged to have been awarded a bush-clearing and grass-cutting tender fraudulently.

Charged alongside Daisy Loo are Stegling, Sithole and Abby, all of whom are GCC employees. The new case is scheduled for a second mention on July 8 (tomorrow) before the Village Magistrates Court.

The case has been on the register's roll for nearly two years. By the time Rannowane excused himself from it, only two out of the 50 witnesses that the state had lined up had testified. Among the witnesses lined up was President Ian Khama, then Vice President.

Lawyer Duma Boko represents Molaletsi, while Dick Bayford is acting for Sithole. Tebogo Sebego represents Stegling, while Unoda Mack is acting for Daisy Loo and Dijeng. Joao Salbany represents Abby.