Gaborone, Botswana - Relatives are reporting the death of a politically connected former diamond company official who had been scheduled to stand trial in April in a corruption case.
Louis Nchindo's family announced his death this week. The family statement did not give a cause of death.
Police say they are investigating the case as a disappearance after the family reported Nchindo missing last week. Police say they have not yet positively identified a body found with Nchindo's car on Thursday.
Nchindo was a managing director of Debswana, a joint venture of the diamond giant De Beers and the Botswana government. Trial had been set to start April 6 for Nchindo, his son Garvas Nchindo and other Debswana officials facing charges including corruption and conspiracy.
Nchindo was once a key figure in the governing Botswana Democratic Party, and opposition politicians have questioned Debswana and De Beers payments to the party and its leaders.
De Beers Botswana Chippo Morapedi said the company has made donations to the BDP during most national elections.
Dumelang Saleshando, spokesman for the opposition Botswana Congress party, said because of De Beers' business relationship with the government, such payments amounted to "diverting public funds to a political organisation".
Former President Ketumile Masire issued a statement recently acknowledging Nchindo had helped him find a manager for a farm he owned, and then arranged for a loan to pay the employee.
"While this was a private business arrangement it was never a secret," Masire said. "With the perfect vision of hindsight, I would not now enter into such an arrangement."
Masire resigned in 1998 after 18 years as president, allowing a smooth transfer of power to another member of his party. The BDP has governed Botswana since independence from Britain in 1966.
- AP