On what has been termed flexing their muscles on tax evasion, Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) and Police officers on Thursday afternoon raided the house of founder and Managing Director at Ki-tech (Pty) Ltd, Mthulisi Sibanda.
The luxurious vehicles confiscated from Sibanda include 2018 Aston Martin Rapide with a baseline price of P1 million, Aston Martin Vantage worth more than P1.9 million, Porsche Panamera GTS which is P1.3 million. Other luxurious vehicles impounded by the taxman include Land Cruiser LX V8 worth P800, 000 Audi S5 worth around P300, 000. Sibanda also saw his two luxurious and pricy Ranger Rover Sport and Range Rover Autobiography and brand new Toyota Fortuner being seized by the taxman.
Sibanda whose company specializes in Healthcare, Freight and Logistics and ICT is alleged to have been a close associate of former Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) Director General Isaac Kgosi. He has been under the DIS, BURS and Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) radar for some time over some of the tenders awarded to his company by DIS under the administration of Kgosi.
Though he specializes in Healthcare, Freight& Logistics and ICT his company was alleged to have been the one contracted to construct strategic fuel points for DIS around the country. In 2007 DIS sought permission from the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) to directly appoint Ki-Tech Group to build strategic fuel storage facilities across the country. PPADB rejected the request.
One of the subsidiaries of Ki-Tech, Petrocoms was in 2007 contracted by DIS to author a Security Risk Assessment Report on risk Botswana faces over fuel security. The report recommended the construction of five fuel storage facilities, which were to be located at Gaborone, Lobatse, Lone Tree, Maun and Mahalapye. According to the report the facilities were necessary to ward off fuel prices.
Sources within BURS have revealed that it is not yet over for Sibanda as he has been evading tax and they might confiscate his luxurious house at Phakalane Golf Estate.
But who is Mthulisi Sibanda?
From the dusty village of Jackals 1 Sibanda honed his life in the second city of Francistown in the notorious and dense location of Monarch. He did all his elementary schooling in the second city before he moved to University of Botswana where he did Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.
In 2007 he started Ki-Tech (Pty) Ltd which was initially IT Company but later evolved into other portfolios like Transport & Logistics and Healthcare. The phenomenal growth of the company shocked and surprised those close to Thuli as he is commonly called by those close to him.
The company enjoyed enormous support from government and DIS and he also saw personal growth leading to him moving to the leafy suburbs of Phakalane Golf Estate. After Isaac Kgosi was fired as Spy Chief, the business road which had been smooth for Thuli started to be bumpy and sometimes have potholes as BURS and DIS started to sniff around.