● Judge engages Boko, Toteng, Bayford in crucial case

● Refuses to back down against Masisi, Chief Justice

● Demands ‘moral authority’, ‘courage’ to check lapses in gov’t branches

● Case viewed as a litmus test for judicial integrity

The State has delayed the hearing of the Gaborone High Court Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe’s interim interdict case against the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as they have filed an interlocutory application hoping to strike out an affidavit from their filed papers.

The case was postponed to next week Tuesday after State lawyer, Phazha Molebatsi indicated that they would like to strike out the affidavit they had filed in response to Ketlogetswe’s court papers.

“We have filed an interlocutory application to the current main case as we want to strike out the affidavit. We would like to strike out the affidavit because it has some averments we do not agree with,” said Molebatsi.

The State was not the only one that had few housekeeping issues that needed to be addressed as Justice Ketlogetswe’s attorneys also requested to amend the filed affidavit.

“We would like to request that the court allow us to amend the affidavit we have filed on November 25, 2022 that accompanied the notice of motion,” Advocate Duma Boko said on behalf of the plaintiff.

The presiding judge Godfrey Radijeng accepted the amendment of the affidavit while indicating that the application to strike out the affidavit be heard fast so that the main application of interim interdict would not be delayed any further.

In his order, the judge also pointed out that the JSC would not take any action regarding the Ketlogetswe matter until the interim interdict is heard and the matter finalised.

“The consent order for an application to strike out will also serve as an order to the JSC to take no action regarding the main matter of hearing the complaint by Ketlogetswe forwarded to them by President Mokgweetsi Masisi until the matter is finalised,” he said.

Following the ruling about the hearing of the interlocutory application being on Tuesday, the main application would be heard on January 4, 2023. Meanwhile, Ketlogetswe’s case is premised on the fact that he wants the JSC interdicted from dealing with his complaint against CJ that he filed with Masisi. Ketlogetswe, in a notice of motion also filed on November 25, 2020, said he has taken the President to court seeking the court to interdict the JSC from entertaining his complaint against Rannowane.

“The JSC be and hereby interdicted from entertaining, dealing with, processing, adjudicating, and in any form or manner acting in any manner whatsoever on the complaint lodged with it by Rannowane dated November 14, 2022, pending a final determination of an action to be instituted by me against Masisi, CJ, JSC and Attorney General, ” he said.

He explained that the JSC cannot deal with the complaint as he has already made his intention to sue.

The judge has for a while been on the spotlight after reporting the CJ to the President about interference and instead of Masisi dealing with the complaint, he referred the matter to the JSC.

The judge also feels like the President being the appointing authority for the CJ should have been the one who handled the matter.

According to the Constitution, judicial appointments are made by the President through the recommendations of the JSC except the appointment of the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal.