03 May 2017

The four suspects in the case where Township Rollers was robbed around P200 000 will be heard on May 11 for Extension 2 magistrate, Ms Ntombizodwa Ncube to make a decision on their bail application.

The four suspects, Molefe Mogatusi, Jeffrey Molefe, Sihlule Mazilawa and George Arabang appeared before magistrate Ncube on Tuesday and are facing an armed robbery charge.

They, together with another suspect who has not yet been arrested, are alleged to have on April 15 near CA Sales in Gaborone attacked Rollers treasurer, Minkie Molatlhegi and took off with the gate takings and match tickets from Rollers’ premier league match against Mochudi Centre Chiefs, which had been held at the National Stadium on the same night.

Investigating officer, Detective Inspector Elias Segokgo had told court that after the matter had been reported, his office received information that led to the arrest of Mogatusi at Oodi in the Kgatleng District.

He said information from questioning Mogatusi led them to arrest Molefe, who led them to Metsimotlhabe River near Morwa, where they found a sports bag which contained the tickets from the football match in question.

A third suspect, Mazilawa was then arrested while the fourth, Arabang handed himself over to the police. The stolen money has not yet been recovered, and police are on the lookout for the fifth suspect, who is still at large.

Arabang pleaded with the court to grant him bail, stating that he had proved his ability to be cooperative by handing himself over to the police upon getting information that they were looking for him.

Detective Inspector Segokgo said he was on sick leave when Arabang was detained and as such he needed time to interview him in order to build a case, and link his alleged involvement to those of the other suspects.

Despite the investigating officer’s assertion that he led them to the second suspect, Mogatusi said he did not know the other suspects, and claimed that the mother of his child and her younger brother had been harassed by the police.

Representing the prosecution, Inspector Peter Simisani argued that while suspects are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, there are circumstances that forced the suspects’ civil liberties to be curtailed as they await trial.

Inspector Simisani said the charge of armed robbery is serious, and that there is P200 000 involved. He said if the accused were given bail, they could obstruct the cause of justice, as the fifth accused was still at large.

He added that Mogatusi and Molefe had other pending cases before various courts, including for burglary, and had been granted bail on condition that they do not commit similar offences.

“While everyone has a constitutional right to free movement and presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, the interest of society outweigh those of the individual in such circumstances, and we believe they should be remanded in custody,” Inspector Simisani said.

Magistrate Ncube extended the accused four’s warrant of arrest until May 11. ENDS