IN a dramatic development that adds another tragic chapter to Botswana’s largest pension fraud case, Tim Marsland – the South African businessman at the center of the scandal that saw former Permanent Secretary to the President, Carter Moropisi, imprisoned – has taken his own life. This shocking turn comes just weeks after Morupisi began serving his seven-year sentence for corruption.
Marsland, who had been fighting extradition from South Africa to face trial in Botswana for the theft of millions in civil servant pension funds, chose to end his life rather than face justice. Authorities in Botswana had been vigorously pursuing his extradition to answer for his role in the massive fraud scheme that defrauded the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) of hundreds of millions.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, a national spokesperson for the South African Police Service, said: “INTERPOL NCB Pretoria can confirm that this office was handling an extradition matter of wanted fugitive Mr Timothy Marsland from Botswana since 2019. Mr Maarsland was a fugitive after he allegedly defrauded the Botswana Government, a significant amount of money (P200 million as on the INTERPOL Red Notice). He was in custody for +- 3 years pending his extradition before he got bail of R 2 000 000. He appealed this case several times in the Johannesburg High Court, and on 2025-04- 10 at 21:00, he allegedly shot and killed himself at his house in Kliprivier, Gauteng. An inquest has been registered for investigation.”
The investigation had uncovered that Marsland used the misappropriated pension funds to purchase several multimillion-rand properties across South Africa. As part of the corrupt scheme, Marsland had rewarded Morupisi with a luxurious Toyota Land Cruiser valued at R700,000 (approximately P600,000) in exchange for facilitating the fraudulent transaction that diverted P500 million from the pension fund to Capital Management Botswana.
Morupisi’s spectacular fall from grace had culminated in a legal saga that saw him briefly freed by a controversial High Court ruling, only to be sent back to prison when a full bench of five judges overturned that decision. The Court of Appeal had determined that his initial suspended sentence was “embarrassingly lenient” given the severity of his crimes against the people of Botswana.
With Marsland’s death, attention now turns to the recovery effort. Botswana authorities are expected to intensify their pursuit of Marsland’s assets and companies in a determined bid to recoup the millions stolen from civil servants’ pensions. Legal experts suggest this asset recovery process could involve complex international legal maneuvers as officials work to trace and seize properties and business interests acquired with the fraudulently obtained funds.
This pension fraud case, which has claimed one man’s freedom and another’s life, stands as one of the most significant corruption scandals in Botswana’s history. It underscores the government’s increasingly aggressive stance against corruption, even when it reaches the highest levels of civil service and crosses international borders.
For the civil servants whose retirement security was jeopardized by this scheme, the pursuit of Marsland’s assets represents their best hope for recovering what was stolen. Meanwhile, Morupisi continues to serve his sentence, a stark reminder that in Botswana’s judicial system, the powerful are increasingly being held to account.
