Former Botswana president Ian Khama and SA businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe have roped in heavyweights to address multibillion-pula money-laundering allegations made against them in what has become a reputational war with the Botswana government.

Butterflies, blue flies, fireflies - and lies. That's how South African businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe and former Botswana president Ian Khama view the allegations levelled against them by Botswana authorities following the release on Wednesday 20 August of a damning report by an international law firm, Omnia Strategy, and a business intelligence outfit, Alaco.

A Zoom press conference accompanied the release, with journalists in Botswana and South Africa for the first time simultaneously attending an event by the duo. To help do their bidding, the pair have roped in the big names: Omnia chair Cherie Blair, who is an internationally renowned lawyer and wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, and former public protector Thuli Madonsela.

The story is as follows: ten months ago, an investigator with Botswana's Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, Jako Hubona, alleged in an affidavit that the duo has been involved in moving $10.1-billion, the equivalent of roughly half the GDP of Botswana and twice...