25 Mar 2020

Four men were on Monday arraigned before Ghanzi magistrate court on a theft charge.

The four; Mmolotsi Tlhowe who works as Principal Transport Officer, William Tlhobolo, Kehakgametse Qoma, both unemployed and Robert Ncence who works as a labourer at Cordnex  appeared before Magistrate Wame Mosugelo, who was holding fort for Ghanzi Senior Magistrate Thapelo Buang.

The men together with another one, who was not before court, are accused of stealing goods from Builders Mart-Ghanzi on different dates.

It is alleged that Tlhowe, Tlhobolo and Qoma, stole 42 boxes of floor tiles valued at P7 767 and five manhole covers valued at P1 624, sometime during March, this year.  

Tlhowe, Tlhobolo and Ncence  are said to have stolen 52 boxes of floor tiles valued at P9 617 and 38 boxes of wall tiles valued at P4 229 on March 15.

On another count, Tlhowe, Tlhobolo and another, who was not before court, are accused of stealing 67 boxes of wall tiles valued P7 457 on March 17.  

All  the accused were granted bail on condition that they attended all court sessions and did not get involved in any criminal activities.

The prosecutor in the case, Inspector Chinga Pateletso, told the court that investigations were complete, but the investigating team was still looking for another accused, who was not before the court. 

He said the accused’s name was  known to the investigating team. 

Inspector Pateletso did not oppose the accused being given conditional bail, saying they had recovered most of the stolen items. 

The accused will appear for status update on April 24. 

Meanwhile, in an interview with BOPA, Ghanzi Police Station Commander, Modiro Lekone said their investigations of the Builders Mart break-in case, led them to Tlhowe’s residence, where the vehicle allegedly used in ferrying the stolen goods was found, with some of the stolen goods still in it.

He said they conducted a search, leading to recovery of more goods, with further investigations leading to the arrest of the other three. Ends