30 Nov 2021

Maun magistrate court has on Monday granted attempted murder and defilement accused person, Percy Matlho bail.

The 26-year-old man of Moeti ward in Maun is alleged to have attempted to murder the complainant between November 05 and November 07 2021 at Xhaxaba settlement in the North West District.

On count two the accused is alleged to have unlawfully had carnal knowledge of the complainant while aware that the complainant was under the age of 18 years from the month of May in 2020 to November 7, 2021 when the matter was reported.

Magistrate Kgoadi granted the accused person bail on conditions that the accused person does not interfere with disclosed state witnesses.

The accused person was also ordered not to come into contact with the complainant and should report himself to the Maun Police once a week, every Monday.

Earlier on, representing the State, Sub Inspector Ndiyona Makoyongo of the Botswana Police stated that the state would not oppose bail since the investigating officer had gathered some of the evidence.

Sub Insp Makoyongo maintained that the state would therefore apply for conditional bail as investigations were still ongoing.

The conditions, he said were that the accused person does not interfere with witnesses not yet recorded and that the accused person did not meet with the complainant.

Particulars of the offence are that the complainant on November 03 visited the accused at Xhaxaba who is the father of her child.

It is alleged that on November 05 the accused person started to accuse the complainant of cheating on him.

The accused person allegedly dragged the complainant to the nearby bush where he assaulted her with a whip and knobkerrie.

He then allegedly hanged the complainant on roof rafters in an unoccupied mud hut using a robe and a cable trying to strangle her to death. The accused allegedly assaulted the victim with fists and slapping her on her cheeks.

It is alleged that the accused person then ordered the complainant to go with him to his hut to sleep and threatened the victim that he would kill her if she informed anyone.

On November 06 it is alleged that the accused person dragged the complainant to yet another unoccupied mud hut where he assaulted her and accidentally hit the baby that was carried by the complainant on the left cheek.

The accused allegedly tied the complainant with a rope and pulled it over the rafters and kept tightening and loosening it threatening to kill her.

He is also alleged to have stabbed the victim on her thighs and back with a knife and assaulted her with a motorbike battery on the forehead in which victim sustained injuries.

The accused is alleged to have stopped assaulting the victim after his young sister showed up and noticed that the seven months baby had an injury on the cheek while the victim also had bruises all over her body.

The sister then promised to report to the police through Belmond Safaris.

On November 07 the accused allegedly ordered the complainant to accompany him to a secluded place where he whipped her with a cable on her legs.

The victim allegedly managed to escape and ran back to their mud hut, the accused allegedly followed her back home and the police later arrived and arrested the accused.

On the defilement charge, the victim’s mother on November 07 reported that the accused started engaging in a sexual relationship with her daughter on the month of May in 2020 while she was 15-years-old.

The victim’s mother reported that after realizing that her daughter was pregnant in July 2020 she informed the accused’s parents and that a baby boy was born.

The accused person will appear again for status report on January 22. Ends