Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
11 November 2009
Musician Kabo Matlho is among the 4,000 people or organisations whose funds have been abandoned in various banking vaults in Botswana.
The Bank of Botswana says that the Kabo Matlho Trust funds have been lying idle at Barclays Bank while more abandoned cash isat First National Bank and Standard Chartered. The trust was set up by former First Lady, the late Ruth Khama in 1986.
It was meant to help Matlho, who was born without arms. The account was to be administered by the Botswana Red Cross to assist the Matlho with basic needs up to the end of his primary school education.
The Red Cross employed Matlho's mother in 1992 to help her meet the needs of her son. She is still employed at the Red Cross.
Through the trust funds the young Matlho attended school in Zimbabwe for about four years. The money was also used to pay his fees for an ICT course at Gaborone Technical College. He got a charger and a battery for his electric wheelchair through the funds, records at the Red Cross indicate.
After learning news about the fund, Red Cross officials contacted the bank and learnt that the signatories have passed away. The signatories of the trust account include Lady Khama, the founding Red Cross president and a former Red Cross secretary general, a certain Maruma.
The amount of money currently in the account is said to be P10,000.
Red Cross marketing and communications manager, Cassius Mmopelwa said yesterday that the Bank of Botswana has promised to help them get the money. "As you may be aware, the account was opened a long time ago and there have been a lot of changes in management, hence the information regarding the abandoned account came through the media. Most staff members are new and we are currently making some arrangement with the bank to access the account," Mmopelwa said.
He told Mmegi that once they get the cash, they will surrender it to Matlho. The beneficiary is now a mature man, popular for his singing talent. He was one of the main attractions of Botswana television music talent show, Pop Star Botswana, three years ago.
He later released a R&B album under the Pop Star Botswana Company, along with another star of the competition, Tshepo Dikomang. The album did not do so well in the market.
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