27 Feb 2025

Kenneth Dean Jr Fogelson (58), a native of the United States of America was recently denied bail by Masunga Magistrate Courts.
 Fogelson is accused of the murder of Chimbidzani Bathoki on December 12, last year at Maitengwe. Dismissing Fogelson’s bail application recently, Magistrate Tshegofatso Bakgomogi said the accused was not a Botswana citizen, has no fixed residence and has no family ties in the country.
Magistrate Bakgomogi said these factors significantly increased the likelihood of absconding adding that courts have generally been reluctant to grant bail to foreigners who have no substantial connections in the country.
She said it was the state’s contention that the accused came only to visit the deceased and the deceased was his sole known contact in the country.
“These circumstances do not provide sufficient assurance that he would remain in the country if granted bail,” she said adding that if the accused flees, securing his return to Botswana would be difficult and uncertain given the complexity of international extradition processes.
She said that the administration of justice would be severely prejudiced if the accused did not stand trial as the charge of murder against him was a serious one.
Magistrate Bakgomogi noted that while the presumption of innocence applies, the gravity of the offence was a factor in considering bail.
She said society has a vested interest in ensuring that serious crimes were prosecuted and allowing a potentially high-risk accused to be released would not be in the interests of justice.
She said while the accused cooperated with the investigations, this alone did not outweigh the risk of flight.
“Compliance with the police procedures on its own does not guarantee that the accused would avail himself for trial if released,” she said.
On the other hand, she said the mere fact that the accused person has financial muscle as he alluded to in his application before court did not stand as a safeguard against the potential for risk to flee the country.
He was given 14 days to appeal to the High Court against the decision of the magistrate’s court. ENDS