18 May 2016

Chief Magistrate Mompati Taolo of the Village Magistrate Court in gaborone, on Tuesday, further detained two South African nationals who are facing a single count of promoting trafficking in persons at the insistence of the prosecution.

s Susan Mangori from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions  told the court that investigations in the matter were still on going as authorities in both Botswana and South Africa were conducting joint investigations which will inform the court on the way forward. 

Ms Mangori, who was holding fort for Mr Farayi Mawhite, further told the parked court that the investigating team will further cast their scope of coverage to some East African countries.

In the dock are Hanamantsi Jakobus Lekena of Masacani Mega, Ramatlabama in South Africa, who works as a cleaner at Palms Hotel and Antoinette Relebohile Nthoba of Pimville Zone 5 in Soweto, South Africa who is a butchery operator.  

According to the charge sheet, the two accused, Lekena and Nthoba on or about March 04, 2016 at Tlokweng Border acting together in concert promoted the trafficking of two females aged 20 and 23 years from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Gaborone in transit to South Africa by providing recruitment materials, transportation and transfer facilities. 

In past Nthoba’s attorney Mr Friday Leburu has argued that Nthoba never transported nor harboured anyone for the purpose of human trafficking and as such she should be given bail particularly that she is still a suspect. His efforts to secure bail failed both at the magistrate court level and at the High Court. 

However, during Tuesday’s proceedings, Mr Leburu said he was not opposed to his client being further remanded to give prosecution some quality time to continue with investigations. He therefore said he will pursue the issue of bail at a later stage. 

This time around Lekena on his part did not say anything to the court. His bail application has also previously failed. He had told the court that once given bail he will abide by its conditions, noting that he can never abscond because that will be a fruitless exercise particularly that Botswana and South Africa have extradition treaty. The two will be back in court on June 02, 2016. ENDS