14 Aug 2022

Murder accused, Lovemore Sithole has distanced himself from the contents of his confession statement. Sithole told Lobatse Magistrate Court on Thursday that the contents of the statement were fabricated by the police and investigating officers and he was forcefully made to dictate to them for recording to the magistrate .

   The contents of the statement were not from me. I was forced to say those issues by the police. I did so because I was assaulted by the police and was told what to write,” said Sithole.

He said on that particular day, he was told that an arrangement had been made with a magistrate and that he was to go and make a confession statement. “I handed myself to the police and I had told them what happened to the child and they said I was lying. They therefore assaulted me and fabricated what I had to tell the magistrate and be recorded as my confessions statement,” he said.

Sithole said he was never arrested as purported, but he handed himself to the police, adding “I do not understand why I was treated that way since I was willing to assist. I slept with my hands and legs cuffed. I obliged to everything that I was told to do”.

He has also told the court that he was also confused as to why he was made to sign the confession statement at his holding cell, prior to his appearance (on Thursday, August 11), though it was long recorded, two days after he handed himself to the police.

Lobatse Senior Magistrate, Mr Kaveri Kapeko said he denied Sithole bail on condition that the investigations were ongoing. He also ordered the prosecution to avail the Investigating Officer in the next mention scheduled for September 1, this year, to update the court on progress of the investigations and the amount of time required to complete such.

The magistrate said although he denied the accused person bail based on the severity of the offence and other pertinent grounds raised by the prosecution, the court does not in any way, undermine the accused’s personal rights, saying he had the right to be given bail pending trial. Mr Kapeko also advised the accused of his right to appeal to the High Court.

Prior to his ruling on Sithole’s bail application, the magistrate said the accused person was facing a single count of murder of Tlotso Karema on March 18, 2022, in the bush along the Lobatse-Molapowabojang road.

He said the accused person was, after his arrest on July 5, 2022, arraigned before court on July 7, 2022 and had been remanded in custody since then. Mr Kapeko said the initial application for his further remand was never opposed by the accused person.

However, he said the accused person made his application for bail on July 27, 2022, supported by among other grounds; that he wanted to attend to livelihoods of his wife and children as they were dependent on him. “The accused person has also pleaded with the court that if granted bail, he will not interfere with investigations and will attend court whenever required to do so,” said Mr Kapeko.

He said the prosecution has, through an affidavit from the Investigating Officer (IO), pleaded for further remand of the accused person on the grounds that the case had attracted public interest, leading to unrest in Lobatse, which included vandalism of private property and government vehicles.

He added that the accused person was a foreigner, who was likely to flee if given bail prior to completion of the matter, taking into consideration that the offence carried capital punishment.

“The prosecution has also indicated that more arrests were likely to be effected and therefore releasing him on bail will jeopardise their efforts. Tempers were also high among the community and therefore releasing the accused person on bail will put his life in danger.

“The prosecution has not yet recorded statements from possible witnesses, some of them stay with the accused person. They were equally concerned by the fact that they were still searching for the murder weapon and therefore granting him bail might jeopardise the search.

They are also yet to retrieve the cellphone, which the accused person is alleged to have used to send a message to the deceased’s aunt giving the location of the deceased’s body,” said Mr Kapeko.

He also added that the accused person had, prior to his arrest, applied for a visa to Canada and therefore the likelihood of him fleeing the case’s jurisdiction was high. Mr Kapeko therefore said, the court had to take into consideration grounds laid down by both parties in making a determination on whether to grant or refuse bail.

He said though residing in Botswana, it was not disputed that the accused person was a native of Zimbabwe and therefore boosted by the unrest that engulfed the town of Lobatse, resulting in fear for his safety, he was likely to flee and harbour where he will feel safe. Sithole has in the past court appearances, pleaded to be released on bail since he was the sole provider for his family. He said his wife was expectant and that he will not interfere with the investigations or flee the country.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor, Ms Tamela Mbulawa assured the court that all that was raised by the accused persons will be looked into. Ms Mbulawa said the prosecution will oblige to the court’s directive and avail theinvestigating officer in the next mention to update on progress of investigations, as well as to respond to all issues raised by the accused person. ENDS