Butterfly case back to haunt state as Motsepe demands millions
The Attorney General (AG) has been pushed into a tight corner by the surprise claim from South African businesswoman and diplomat, Ambassador Bridgette Motsepe who is demanding around P68 million in legal fees.
The claim emanates from the infamous P100 billion ‘Butterfly’ case that has since been declared a fabrication, by the courts.
The damaging allegations against Motsepe first came to light following an affidavit by Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) investigator, Jako Hubona, suggesting she was part of a network involving offshore bank accounts supposedly moving large sums of money belonging to Botswana government, allegedly to destabilise government and finance the opposition.
The affidavit further suggested that Motsepe had co-signed the P100 billion.
Government Attorney Osego Garebamono said that the AG’s Chambers were aware of the allegations reported by South Africa’s Sunday World and global media Billionnaire.africa and explained in an exclusive interview that all they know is that the parties have been engaging each other on the matter, and that the last meeting was held last Thursday, January 29th.
“We are shocked and surprised that Ambassador Motsepe is talking about R83 million in legal fees. We met recently, we engaged, and we parted ways amicably. We reject the claim that the government of Botswana has refused to engage with her, and we can confirm that we are in the process of determining her legal fees,” he said, adding that they don’t even know how that figure was reached.
Garebamono said that the Lobatse High Court order issued in June 2025 states that Motsepe was abandoning her claim for damages, but that the AG shall be liable for the expenses that she reasonably incurred in the vindication of her good name.
“The qualification of the expenses referred to shall stand over for later determination, and the matter is set down for status hearing on the 20th August 2025,” reads part of the order.
Garebamono added that the process of determining the legal fees is a long one, and that Ambassador Motsepe is the one who should reveal her legal expenses, then the claim will go through a taxation process before Master of the High Court. If the parties are in disagreement, it would mean another long process of determining each and every cost until they reach the middle ground. All that has not happened, he said.
With regard to the court-ordered apologies and retractions, Garebamono stated that government has already published them in local media, and that they learned that it is a long and complex process to place such advertisements in the international media.
He said that other adverts will be placed in South African Sunday Times newspaper, and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) before the end of this month, and will be placed in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and CNN at a later stage due to the booking processes required.
“And we have been communicating all these to the Ambassador’s legal team. We are shocked by the recent media reports about our alleged lack of cooperation,” Garebamono said.
Through her legal team at Webber Wentzel in South Africa, Ambassador Motsepe has reportedly said that the Botswana government has not complied with the June 2025 court order, and that there has been no substantive explanation for the delay, no outreach to discuss costs and no payment, while interest continues to accrue.
The law firm further alleged that Botswana has moved slowly on the apologies and retractions, further accusing the government of delaying notices in The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and on CNN.
Garebamono insisted that there was no dispute, whatsoever; between the AG and Motsepe’s legal team and that the next meeting was scheduled within the next few weeks.
The State Attorney would not be drawn into discussing the recent series of questions raised by Kgosi Khama IV of Bamangwato at Ntlo Ya Dikgosi concerning the Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) operations, and the case of beleaguered operative Welheminah Maswabi, codenamed ‘Butterfly’.
“We have no comment on the questions since they were directed at the relevant ministry,” he said.
On the Butterfly matter, Minister for State President and Security, replied that the government has issued an apology to Motsepe after a careful review of the allegations contained in the Affidavit deposed in 2019.
“It is however, important to clarify that Ms Welheminah Maswabi pursued her own defamation claim against the State and several institutions through the courts. The matter was fully heard by the Lobatse High Court and was dismissed in its entirety, with costs,” Minister Moeti Mohwasa said adding that Maswabi was not compensated for any damages. He was responding to Khama’s question last week.
For his part, Kgosi Khama IV said that the questions were his initiative to seek accountability, and were not influenced by any person or past events.
“Personal relations are not a matter that can be made public without the other party’s consent,” he said when quizzed about his relationship with Ambassador Motsepe. He said he would not comment on the renewed standoff between Motsepe and the Botswana government.
At the time of going to press last night, Motsepe’s attorneys had not responded to our request for a breakdown of the legal costs or how they reached the amount, as they did not respond to our WhatsApp messages and calls.
