The former president of Botswana, Ian Khama, has denied accusations of corruption that have been levelled at him. According to News24 Khama said that he was planning on suing for defamation an investigator who had claimed that Khama had stolen state funds.
Khama, the son of the first president of the country, Seretse Khama, caused some controversy earlier in the year when he said he would not support the governing Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in this year’s general election. Instead he would be supporting the newly formed Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). He also accused his former deputy and current president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, of being an autocrat.
Despite Khama’s defection the BDP saw its vote and seat share increase, winning 38 of the 63 Parliamentary seats, with the BPF winning only three seats.
An investigator at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, Jako Hubona, said Khama, along with two former intelligence operatives, Isaac Kgosi and Weleminah Maswabi, had sent government funds to banks in South Africa and Hong Kong. Only Maswabi has been charged and she will make a court appearance in February next year.
In a media conference Khama denied all the allegations and called them ‘maliciously fabricated’.