09 Apr 2015

 Daniel Kenosi, who was recently denied bail on a charge of cybercrime and computer related crimes, will appear again for mention tomorrow (Friday 10) before Chief Magistrate Linah Mokibe-Oahile of the Village Magistrate Court

When he appeared before the same court on April 2, his bail application, through Mr Lore Morapedi of Lore Morapedi attorneys, did not succeed as the magistrate held that the circumstances, which were raised by the prosecution when he first appeared had not changed.

Magistrate Mokibe-Oahile said the defence had not done enough to convince the court that there was any change of circumstance, noting that the state was yet to test electronic gadgets that it had seized from the accused. In addition, she said the accused might temper with investigations by using other devices while on bail.

Mrs Mokibe-Oahile also said the defence should not down play the severity of the crime noting that a criminal offence was a criminal offence no matter how minor it might seem. She also said the 14-day detention that the prosecution had asked the court to detain the accused were not yet exhausted.

Defence lawyer, Mr Morapedi, had told the court that continued incarceration of Kenosi was also infringement on his right, noting that the offence did not attract harsh sentence and on probability he was likely not to be send to jail.

Assistant Superintendent Lentlhabetse Willie of Broadhurst Police Station Prosecution Unit had earlier told the court that he was opposed to the granting of bail, noting that there was still no change of circumstances. He was however ordered by the magistrate to speed up investigations.

Kenosi, who is a journalist, was arrested on March 24, 2015 after appearing for a mention at Village Magistrate Court on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and failure to report an accident contrary to the Road Traffic Act. These offenses were committed on September 28, 2014.

In the latest matter, Kenosi is charged for unlawful distribution of pornographic or obscene material contrary to Section 16 of the Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act. He is also facing a criminal defamation charge contrary to Section 192 of Penal Code in Francistown. ENDS