10 Sep 2013

Chief Magistrate Lenah Oahile-Mokibe of the Village Magistrate Court on September 9 ordered that five men accused of the murder of a night watchman in Gaborone North on August 28, 2013, be further detained as police investigations continue.

The five looked dejected and preferred to look down as the magistrate pronounced their further detention until their next mention date on September 23.

The five: Lebang Thabo Ntesi of Rampedi ward, Phemelo Tshelang of Mochine ward, Gorata Sebego of Rampedi ward, Patrick Gaile also of Rampedi ward and Mpho Mangwa of Lelotong ward, are Oodi residents.

The five men were accused of acting together to murder Mr Olebogeng Ramapulane, on the night of August 28, at Gaborone North Farms. The deceased who was a night watchman was at his post on the day.

On the second count, the five men were charged with the attempted murder of Liu Jian Hui, still at the same farms on the same day. During the attempt on his life, Mr Hui was gravely injured and was admitted at Princess Marina Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

However, the prosecutor, Sub-Inspector Galekhutle Mashumba of Sir Seretse Khama Airport Police Station (SSKA) told the court that Mr Hui had now been discharged from the ICU and admitted in the male surgical ward of the hospital.

He also said they still awaited post mortem results and some of the exhibits found at the scene had been sent for analysis at the police forensic laboratory. Police also managed to recover some items believed to have been stolen during commission of the offence. These included a lap top, documents and P15 280 cash belonging to the injured man.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Oahile-Mokibe advised Ntesi, Gaile and Mangwa who said they were sole breadwinners of their families to ask for government social security net to assist their families. She also instructed that Sebego, who was a student bat Bambino College, should be assisted to write examinations timeously.

Sebego had earlier on complained that he wrote one of his papers under difficult conditions because he was forced to write a three hour duration paper within an hour because of problems which he encountered at prison.Ends