23 Aug 2018

Broadhurst Magistrates Court has returned a guilty verdict on Simon Kgowe in his May 2016 drug possession case.

Delivering judgement yesterday, Magistrate Gaseitsiwe Tonoki said Kgowe faced two counts of illegal possession of drugs contrary to the provisions of the Drugs and Related Substances Act.

Magistrate Tonoki said the particulars of the offences averred by the state were that the accused had on May 21, 2016 in Block 3 in Gaborone, being a person not authorised, licensed or exempted in any manner to possess habit-forming drugs unlawfully had in his possession cannabis and methcathinone.

Mr Tonoki said while the accused had in his testimony stated that the drugs in question, being cannabis weighing 11.3 grams and 4.3 grams of methcathinone, were not his, the evidence he gave had been found to be deficient to lead to his exoneration from the alleged offences. 

He said in his testimony, Kgowe had not denied possession or custody of the said habit-forming drugs, and had also not challenged the evidence of most of the prosecution’s witnesses during trial as he chose not to cross-examine them.

After judgement was delivered, the prosecutor Mr Manager Mabalane of the Directorate of Public Prosecution applied that the accused be remanded in custody pending the production of a record of previous convictions by the prosecution. 

Kgowe’s attorney, Mr Gosiame Digangwa said the defence was not ready to mitigate and pleaded with the court to schedule another appearance at which they would be in a position to proceed with mitigation prior to sentencing.

Magistrate Tonoki then set September 4 as the date for mitigation and acceded to the prosecution’s application for the accused’s remand pending the completion of the case.

On Tuesday, the day that judgement on the matter would have been delivered, Kgowe had told the court that he was so unwell that he could not even sit in court to listen to the judgement being read.

Magistrate Tonoki had then ordered that he be taken for medical examination and that a certificate of fitness ascertaining if indeed the accused was unfit to listen to judgement being read be availed to the court the next day to guide the court on how to proceed with the matter. 

At the start of the proceedings yesterday, the prosecutor informed the court that its order had been complied with and that a medical certificate declaring Kgowe fit to hear judgement had been filed with court. 

Despite the court granting the prosecution’s plea for Kgowe’s remand after he was found guilty, the accused is already in custody for allegedly murdering Elizabeth Kerekang on July 30 in Block 3 in Gaborone by cutting off her head and then dumping her headless body in Maratanang ward in Tlokweng. 

BOPA