• sparks fears that he could have fleeced clients of M1 million

Nat Molomo\ ’Marafaele Mohloboli

PROMINENT car dealer Phoka Mofubetsoana of Phoka Clearing and Forwarding Agency has fled the country in fear for his life after failing to deliver vehicles to some of his clients who had already paid for them.

Mr Mofubetsoana’s flight from the country has sparked fears that his clients could lose as much as M1 million they had invested for the procurement of used cars from Japan through the latter’s company.

This was said by the Police Spokesperson, Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli, in a recent interview with the Sunday Express. Supt Mopeli further said that investigations are continuing and Mr Mofubetsoana could be charged with fraud and money laundering.

Last month, Mr Mofubetsoana issued a statement informing his clients that he had decided to temporarily close shop to give himself time to address some threats that were made against his staff.

“One of the major reasons why the management deemed it necessary to close the Maseru office was due to ongoing threats and attacks against staff members by some customers. The decision was therefore necessary to protect lives and property,” Mr Mofubetsoana said in the statement.

He further said that he had alerted the office of the Commissioner of Police about his decision to indefinitely close shop and also assured clients that they would receive the imported vehicles they had already paid for and those who did not get them would be refunded

However, Supt Mopeli denied that Mr Mofubetsoana reported the matter to the police as he alleged in his statement.

“He (Mr Mofubetsoana) never reported to the police as he said in his statement. What happened is that his dissatisfied clients came to complain and we asked him to report to us as the matter was being investigated.

“When we spoke on the phone, Mr Mofubetsoana said he was on his way to the police as the commissioner had already called him but he never showed up. Instead he told us that he had skipped the country fearing for his life as there were threats to his life,” said Supt Mopeli.

Clients could have been prejudiced as much as M1million through the failure to deliver the used cars from Japan.

“We are talking of an estimated M950 000 and this could be more because more people are still coming to open cases. Now that he (Mr Mofubetsoana) has fled, he could be charged with fraud and money laundering, but we are still investigating,” Supt Mopeli said.

Mr Mofubetsoana’s legal representative Advocate Sello Tšabela also confirmed that his client had indeed skipped the country in fear for his life.

“I am fully aware that my client has skipped the country and he has issued a statement saying he fears for his life. People should indulge him and be patient in order to allow him to deliver (on the vehicle purchases or refunds) as he has already committed to doing,” Adv Tšabela said.