DCEO suspends top prosecutor

…over alleged mishandling of Monokoane fertiliser theft case

Moorosi Tsiane

A senior prosecutor at the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), Advocate (Adv) Lebohang Motelle, has been suspended pending disciplinary proceedings over her alleged mishandling of a corruption case involving prominent businessman and politician Mohopoli Monokoane.

The suspension follows an internal DCEO investigation that reportedly uncovered “serious irregularities” in Adv Motelle’s conduct.

Adv Motelle had failed to appear in court on the scheduled date leading to Mr Monokoane’s acquittal for want of prosecution.

She is said to have told his superiors that she had been absent from court because she had not been aware that the case was due to proceed on that date.  In fact, she claims she was under the impression that no hearing date had yet been set.

The DCEO now accuses her of lying. The anti-graft body believes that she was aware of the case and might have been absent to deliberately sabotage it. It has hence decided to suspend her pending disciplinary proceedings.

The DCEO had accused Mr Monokoane, the Peka legislator, of theft of M74 800 worth of fertiliser and charged him alongside his company, Hippo Transport Inc (Pty) Ltd, and his store manager Lebohang Mathibela.

The fertiliser was initially valued at M42 000 before the amount was later revised to M74 800. The accused were granted M10 000 bail in November 2024 and the matter proceeded through the courts until Chief Magistrate ‘Matankiso Nthunya dismissed it on 1 December 2025.

Magistrate Nthunya ruled that the prosecution had failed to proceed with the case, citing Adv Motelle’s absence from court and the DCEO’s failure to provide further particulars requested by defence lawyer Adv Christopher Lephuthing in August 2025.

In her judgment, the magistrate said repeated delays by the prosecution had prejudiced the accused and violated their right to a speedy trial under the Speedy Court Trials Act No. 9 of 2002.

The ruling initially prompted a strong response from the DCEO.

DCEO Director-General, Brigadier (Brig) Adv Mantšo Sello, challenged the decision, arguing that the prosecution had been ready to proceed and that the magistrate had relied on an incomplete and defective court record when dismissing the matter.

The anti-corruption agency subsequently approached the High Court seeking a review of the ruling, accusing Magistrate Nthunya of acting irrationally and irregularly.

In the application, Adv Sello maintained that the dismissal was unsupported by the court record and overlooked the prosecution’s efforts to bring the matter to trial.

He said delays were largely caused by administrative failures within the court system, including the temporary disappearance of the case record in March 2025. He said the matter was postponed several times until the record was eventually traced to Magistrate Nthunya’s office.

Once recovered, the case was set down for hearing in August 2025. However, the defence requested a postponement after being served with an amended charge sheet. He said the matter was then scheduled for hearing on 11 and 12 December 2025.

Adv Sello said the dismissal on 1 December 2025 came as a surprise because the hearing had already been set for later that month. He added that Adv Motelle only became aware of the proceedings after being contacted by Adv Lephuthing, by which time the case had already been dismissed.

However, the DCEO later made a dramatic U-turn and withdrew the review application after an extensive internal investigation reportedly uncovered serious shortcomings in the prosecution’s handling of the case.

According to Adv Sello, the review application had been based on false, misleading and improperly presented information supplied by the prosecutor responsible for the matter.

He said the decision to withdraw the application followed a comprehensive five-month investigation conducted between December 2025 and April 2026.

“This decision follows a comprehensive five-month investigation and internal review undertaken by the Directorate from December 2025 to April 2026. The findings established that the application was fundamentally flawed, having been premised on false, misleading, and improperly presented factual assertions by the prosecutor responsible for the case.

“These assertions were used to ground serious allegations against the presiding judicial officer, including claims of corrupt conduct in the dismissal of the case. The DCEO does not take this matter lightly, as it risks undermining public confidence in the Directorate.

“Accordingly, the Directorate has taken the following actions: immediate withdrawal of the review application, while considering other possible grounds for review in light of the case history; and initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutor concerned,” Adv Sello said.

The findings led to disciplinary action against Adv Motelle.

On 27 April 2026, she was issued with a show-cause letter requiring her to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against her. She submitted a written response on 7 May 2026.

However, Adv Sello said her explanation failed to satisfactorily address the concerns raised by the Directorate.

As a result, he issued a suspension letter dated 2 June 2026, removing her from duty pending further investigations and a disciplinary hearing.

“Whereas you submitted a written response dated 7 May 2026 to the Show Cause Letter issued to you on 27 April 2026.

“Whereas your response has been duly considered and has not satisfactorily addressed the concerns raised therein, thereby necessitating further investigations and disciplinary proceedings in relation to the allegations contained in the said Show Cause Letter. You are therefore suspended pending disciplinary hearing,” part of the suspension letter reads.

DCEO spokesperson, ‘Matlhokomelo Senoko, confirmed the suspension.

“She has been suspended pending the disciplinary hearing. However, it is still not clear when the hearing will commence,” Mr Senoko said.

Contacted for comment, Adv Motelle denied receiving any suspension letter.

“I have not received any letter suspending me. As far as I know, I have been transferred to work in the North and, while the issue of our accommodation is still being sorted out, I am working from home but still go to the office if there is anything I need from there,” Adv Motelle said.

Meanwhile, Mr Monokoane previously said the case against him was politically motivated and linked to a July 2024 letter he wrote to Prime Minister Sam Matekane criticising governance, secrecy, favouritism, poor service delivery, and unfulfilled promises within the RFP. He claimed the DCEO was used as a political tool against him and noted that the case was dismissed in December 2025 for want of prosecution after the DCEO failed to provide requested particulars. He said the charges resurfaced only after he announced plans to form a new political party, Khanya ea Basotho, but were later withdrawn. Maintaining his innocence, Mr Monokoane said the case had damaged his reputation and business, and that he was planning to sue the DCEO for damages.

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