15 Mar 2022

Six men accused of robbing the SADC headquarters laptops and cameras valued at around P582 000 have been denied bail.

In his ruling on Monday, Village Magistrate Court’s chief magistrate, Dr Goodwill Makofi said the six could not be released on bail because they were charged with an aggravated form of robbery, where force and threat were used.

 “The release of the accused will jeopardise the case. Their bail has been refused and they will be remanded in custody pending investigations,” he added.

The accused; Maitapiso Kgakgamatso of Ledumadumane, Lesego Masilo of White City, Mpho Rasetena of Mogoditshane Block 9, Otsile Semadi of Mmopane, Tongai Tsikirayi of Zimbabwe and Innocent Shaggy had earlier pleaded with court to grant them bail, citing various reasons.

All of them face a single count of robbery committed on or about January 28 and they were making their first court appearance.

Dr Makofi said if convicted, the offence attracted a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, which penalty attached to the offence may induce them to abscond.

He also said robbery cases were prevalent in the city nowadays and were often committed by groups of merciless, armed young men.

“The security guards at SADC must therefore count their stars, our society is on knife edge on account of these crimes,” he said.

He said although they had not been proven guilty and had the right to bail, such should be balanced with the right of the society to live freely. Dr Makofi added that some had admitted before court that they knew where the stolen goods were and that had facilitated the goods to cross the border into the neighbouring countries.

 “Only thorough investigations will tell if the accused innocently bought the goods or they were involved in the robbery,” he said.

Therefore, he said the police ought to be accorded time and space to carry out their investigations and arrest suspects who may not have been arrested yet.  They will appear again on March 28 for an update on the case progress.

The state is represented by Sub Inspector Keorapetse Searobi while all the accused are self-actors. ENDS