Keikantseone Gaowelwe, an employee at Botswana’s Department of Civil and National Registration, testified this week at the Extension II Magistrate’s Court regarding a fraudulent birth certificate issued to Bheki Nkomazana, whose real name is Bheki Nkomazana, a Zimbabwean national.
According to Gaowelwe, the department received notification of Khaya Bheki Mazibuko’s birth in April 2010, but his birth certificate was only issued six years later, in 2016. The certificate was later linked to the fraudulent activities of Nkomazana and three co-accused individuals: Onthusitse Seoke, Keothopile Aobakwe, and Levy Mosweu.
These individuals, all employees of the Department of Civil and National Registration, are charged with fraudulently processing the birth certificate between 2010 and 2016. Nkomazana allegedly paid P12,000.00 to Seoke, Keothopile, and Mosweu to obtain the birth certificate using the name Khaya Bheki Mazibuko. Nkomazana then used this certificate to obtain a Botswana National Identity Card.
The trial further reveals that Nkomazana is accused of using the false identity to commit various fraudulent activities. He allegedly obtained P3.5 million from Leonisa Investments (PTY) Ltd by falsely claiming to have the authority to sell property at Lot number 3032 in Extension 11, previously owned by the late Solomon Rabatape Tlhapane. In another case, Nkomazana is accused of defrauding Tebogo Edwin Koketso of P450,000 by pretending to have sold a ploughing field in Ruele, Mochudi.
In addition, Nkomazana faces charges related to the failure to arrange the burial of Tlhapane, his former employer, who died in 2016 in a South African hospital. Nkomazana allegedly withheld Tlhapane’s death from the family and did not organize the burial.
Gaowelwe, who is responsible for overseeing birth and death registrations, confirmed that her office was first notified of Mazibuko’s birth in 2010. She explained that under normal circumstances, birth registrations should be communicated to the office within 60 days of a child’s birth. However, they only discovered the fraudulent registration in 2016 when an investigation revealed that the necessary supporting documents for the birth certificate were missing. Investigators later traced the approval of the certificate to Seoke, who was responsible for authorizing its issuance despite the missing documents.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Kgosietsile Ngakaagae questioned Gaowelwe’s testimony, suggesting that some inconsistencies in the application could have been caused by inefficiencies in the office’s processes. He further pointed out that no documents had been presented to show that the office had efficient systems in place to prevent or detect fraudulent activities. Ngakaagae maintained that Seoke was innocent and only following the system’s instructions, noting that the lack of updated calibration records for the machines used in the process highlighted system failures.
This ongoing trial highlights the challenges faced by the Botswana government in dealing with fraudulent activities involving civil documents and the abuse of the system to perpetrate financial scams and property theft.
