Beyond the prosecution of Money Laundering offences, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is expected to recover illegally gained assets. There is therefore an urgent need to train prosecutors to effectively and efficiently handle these cases.
To support capacity building, the AGA-Africa Programme collaborated with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Lesotho, on a highly engaging ‘Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery’ workshop held on 3rd-5th July, 2023, in Maseru, Lesotho.
The workshop brought together participants from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Lesotho Mounted Police Service, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences, Civil Litigation, as well as national, regional and international subject matter experts from Lesotho, Zambia, Kenya and the United States.The workshop was aimed at equipping participants with the necessary tools, knowledge and skills to effectively prosecute anti-money laundering, asset forfeiture and corruption cases in Lesotho.
Norma Tyili, AGA-Africa workshop coordinator for South Africa, kicked off the workshop as Markus Green, Board Member, AGA-Africa Programme gave opening remarks on behalf of Karen White, Executive Director, AGA.
Adv. Hlalefang Motinyane, Director, Public Prosecutions, Lesotho delivered the keynote address.
At the opening, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutor, Lesotho and the AGA-Africa Programme was signed.
The highly interactive sessions were facilitated by His Lordship Judge Charles Hungwe, Judge, High Court of Lesotho, Adv. Motlalekhotso Molalle, Director General, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences, Dorcas Oduor, Secretary Public Prosecutions and Principal Deputy, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kenya, Kyle George, Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs, Solo Funds, Margaret Kapambwe-Chitundu, Deputy Chief State Advocate, National Prosecution Authority, and Adv. Dominic Metlae, Advocate, MD Chambers Lesotho,
Hon. Lephema Lebona, Minister of Police and Local Government graced the closing ceremony and gave closing remarks. James Muchiri, AGA-Africa Programme’s Regional Travel and Events Coordinator gave the vote of thanks, thanking all the participants for their attendance and participation.
Workshop Outcome
Through this workshop the participants:
- Improved knowledge on effective investigative techniques in cases of money laundering and asset forfeiture in Lesotho.
- Enhanced their understanding of strategies that can be used in drafting orders, search warrants, seizure, restraint and freezing of assets.
- Were equipped with practical knowledge and skills on how to develop legal arguments for the preparation of criminal and civil confiscation orders.
