11 Feb 2021

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are now being felt in the corridors of justice.

Some accused persons could not attend court for continuation of trial due to positive cases at Molepolole prison.

One of the prosecutors in the Lentsweletau/Hatsalatladi robbery case, Inspector Future Modisadife told Molepolole Magistrate Court on Monday to postpone the case due to the rising COVID-19 positive cases at prison.

Consequently, Magistrate Alice Rammapodi-Lesedi reschedule the case to April 6, 22, 29 and 30 as per the prosecutor’s request.

The postponement, however, did not go down well with Kitso Modisantwa, the first accused in the case, who argued that the prosecution was not doing enough in pushing for completion of the case.

He accused the prosecution of using the corona virus issue as a scapegoat to delay the case that had been dragging on since 2017.

Modisantwa therefore pleaded with the presiding magistrate to consider granting him conditional bail in the interim, adding that his health was also in jeopardy.

Co-prosecutor, Sub Inspector Barulaganye Tiase, said the situation was beyond their control since the world was in the middle of a pandemic that controlled how things were done.

He said they believed what prison officials had told them about the corona situation, corroborating his colleague’s statement about the fact that the number of corona cases registered at Molepolole prison had negatively impacted the progression of cases.

Sub-inspector Tiase, however, maintained his stance against granting the accused bail, positing that reasons for denying the accused bail remained.

In re-scheduling the case, Magistrate Rammapodi-Lesedi said she took heed of the fact that the outbreak at Molepolole prison limited them and did not qualify the accused to be granted bail.

The accused persons are: Kitso Modisantwa, Onkemetse Papiso, Katlego Matlhabaphiri and Koketso Dikobe of Gaborone, Thamaga and Mabalane respectively.

Each faced two counts of robbery and a single count of burglary and theft, offences they allegedly committed in Lentsweletau and Hatsalatladi sometime in 2016.

The four accused persons were alleged to have at or near Lentsweletau and Hatsalatladi, sometime in 2016, robbed Ontiretse Peloyame and George Mhiko of their valuables, including cash, through the use of fire arms.ENDS