01 Aug 2016

An accused person in the Sebele robbery case, Bampoloki Kgangpetsa, has urged Village Magistrate Court to discharge and acquit him from the charge he is facing.

Making his final submission on Friday, Kgangpetsa said he told the court at the beginning of the trial that he had nothing to do with the case as he was never part of the people who robbed Northend Filling Station at Sebele Mall on February 6, 2012.

He said on previous occasions, he told the court and the investigators that the alleged offense happened while he was at the lands with his grandfather, whom he helped tender the cattle.

To his surprise, he said nobody ever bothered to check whether he was lying until his grandfather passed away.

He further said he was appalled that the accomplice witness, Agisanyang Makopo, who was once his friend said the vehicle that was used in the robbery was green yet the police confiscated and tendered his grey vehicle.

“If indeed I was part of the people who actively participated in the robbery, why then should I drive a green vehicle while I own a grey vehicle’, he asked rhetorically.

Kgangpetsa further said the state could not pin him on the fact that he was not able to state the exact times and dates when he was at the lands because that was over four year ago, noting that no person under normal circumstances could memorise such times.

He further told the court that he did not know all the people who were presented as state witnesses save Makopo who unexpectedly incriminated him for no reason.

However, the prosecutor from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ms Sally Boitumelo said all the five state witnesses were credible and consistent, noting that there was no how Makopo could turn against Kgangpetsa if their relationship was said to be good.

She further said the accused was not assertive and could not answer simple questions such as how long he was at the lands and when he came back home. Ms Boitumelo also noted that at one point the accused told the court that he could not continue answering as he said he was tired.

In view of that, she said the accused should be found guilty as charged, noting that the vehicle that was used in the robbery was indeed the one which was shown to the court.  

Kgangpetsa, Golwelwang Efedile, who has since escaped and Joseph Gaie, who was this year in February shot and killed in a foiled robbery at Impex in Gaborone Industrial Area were jointly charged for robbing Northend Filling station of cash, cellphone airtime and cigarettes. Judgement was slated for September 9. ENDS