HOW SEAN TEMBO DEFRAUDED THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA AND FLED

By Tasha Mwansa

Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) leader Sean Tembo defrauded the government of Botswana and fled the country it has emerged.

Tembo who is also Chairperson of the UPND Opposition Alliance Media and Finance Committees ended up in the High Court of Botswana for fraudulent data collection when he was engaged to conduct research on the effects of alcohol on youths in neighbouring Botswana.

The government of Botswana through the Ministry of Health and Wellness lost thousands of Pula as a result of Tembo’s falsified “work”.

This has been confirmed in a Judgement obtained from the Registry of the High Court of Botswana under Cause Number CVHGB-002065-14 ruled by Judge M. T. Motswagole.

The Judge ruled that Mr. Sean Tembo’s conduct description of being “dishonest and unprofessional” was too mild as his actual conduct was dishonest and most likely amounted to attempt to obtaining money by false pretences, or stealing by conversion; considering that he received the sum of * P100 000.00 (One hundred thousand Pula) as advance payment for empirical investigation and data collection, which he did not carry out, but instead falsified it. (*Pula 100,000 is approximately K112, 000 Zambian Kwacha)

Judge Motswagole further ruled that it was established during trial that no data collection tools were developed by Mr. Tembo as the questionnaire that he attached to his report claiming that it was a data collection tool he had developed for the purpose, turned out to be a document he uplifted from the World Health Organisation, which had been used elsewhere used for a different purpose.

Page 33 of the judgement also established that even Tembo’s Final Comprehensive Report of the research had the same fraudulent deficiency ; and that Sean Tembo had admitted and conceded during trial that he had only collected data in Gaborone and from one institution in Lobatse; thereby cheating the terms of reference.

Furthermore, the judgement also established that it was irrefutable that Mr. Sean Tembo had received advance payment from the Government of Botswana for the sole purpose of data collection. The judge also ruled that it was indisputable that Sean Tembo did not use the funds he received from the Government of Botswana on their intended purpose; even though Tembo held out his falsified report as if it were genuine and informed by empirical data when in fact not; as it was in fact a falsified document.

Additionally, Judge Motswagole went on to rule that Sean Tembo held out his fraudulent final report as if it were a genuine product of a joint scholarly effort with some named behavioural experts when in fact not; adding that Tembo’s falsified final report was the result of a sole effort by an unqualified person namely Mr. Sean Tembo.(himself). The judge recommended a criminal investigation in the Judgement.

When his fraudulent ways were discovered, the current Chairperson of the UPND Opposition Alliance Media and Finance Committees hastily closed his “business” and dubious network of activities which he carried out from his office in Gaborone’s Commerce Park, and fled to Zambia in a hurry.

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