29 Aug 2024

Tshepo Sethibe of Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler on Thursday walked free as the state withdrew charges again him.  He was facing a single count of publishing alarming publications, contrary to section 59 (1) as read with section 33 of the penal code (CAP 08:01) Laws of Botswana.  When applying to withdraw the charge, the prosecutor from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Garetlwaelwe Mokhondo told the Village Chief Magistrate, Mr Daniel Nkau that the investigations did not yield much to support the charge.  Therefore, she said the state was not in a position to proceed with the matter.  However, Magistrate Nkau told the prosecution that he was worried by the state trend of bringing half-baked cases to court.  He said the accused incurred expenses such as legal fees and asked if the state was going to reimburse him.  Meanwhile, Sethibe's attorney Dr Obonye Jonas said they still wanted to challenge the constitutionality of the charge his client was facing.  He said the section used to charge his client would continue to be a hindrance to his client's job.  Furthermore, he said their initial challenge, which was before the Maun High Court, was withdrawn, as the court ordered that the magistrate court refer the matter to the High Court.  Asked by Magistrate Nkau why he could not approach the High Court as the matter was a stand-alone, Dr Jonas said the Maun High Court relied on the Court of Appeal decision, which prescribed how matters should reach the High Court.  Therefore, he requested a mention date for the court to address its position on referring the matter to the High Court.  Meanwhile, magistrate excluded Sethibe from attending the next court mention, which he scheduled for October 9.  Sethibe was alleged to have published alarming information on his Facebook account on or about July 8, regarding Tlotso Karema, by suggesting that there was deceitfulness on how the police handled the matter. “Ka jaana ba sepodisi ba supa fa masalela a ngwana a a bonweng mo bekeng e ka di 06 July Wednesday 22, a ya go kopanngwa le marapo a a bonweng ka di 14 April 2022 morago ga two weeks mme a tshubiwe (cremation), ga go na phitlho ya ga Tlotso ka gore go dirwa boferefere,” he was alleged to have written.