07 May 2025

Lobatse senior magistrate Tshoganetso Atamelang has ordered prosecution to amend court papers regarding Kgomokasitwa triple murder suspect, Moagi Mokomeng rape trial.
The case was scheduled to commence on Tuesday at Lobatse Magistrate Court.
Magistrate Atamelang, who was holding the fort for the substantive magistrate in the case, Lobatse Magistrate Court chief magistrate Rebecca Motsamai in absentia, ordered that the accused 34-year-old soldier be furnished with all documents and affidavits of all witnesses who would be involved in the trial before its commencement.
The magistrate said that the court documents presented to him reflected that only six witnesses were scheduled to appear in court for trial but prosecution had enlisted eight witnesses without formally informing the suspect.
Magistrate Atamelang thus ordered prosecution to amend the summary of witnesses accordingly.
“We cannot proceed to trial with a summary that does not match with the one given to the suspect, otherwise it would be unfair. He must be furnished with all statements of witnesses, if prosecution made amendments without informing him, they must do so,” he said.
Magistrate Atamelang then set the mention date to June 2, adding that a trial date could not be set yet for the reason that there could be strong opposition to the amendments presented to the suspect, adding that a trial date could only be set when both prosecution and defence were on the same page for a just Juris dispense.
The decision was made against the backdrop that state prosecution had presented that according to the case summary, the matter had eight witnesses who had been subpoenaed to appear.
Prosecution acknowledged that they had made some amendments without informing the defendant, which was an unintended omission on their part and would duly do so.
Mokomeng was scheduled to appear for formal examination of evidence in order to decide whether he was guilty or not in a rape case in which he was accused of having unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor without her consent between December  26 and 27, 2022 at Borite Ward in Kgomokasitwa village.
The case runs parallel to his recent cases of nine counts of offenses, which include murder, attempted murder, arson and malicious damage to property committed on February 25, on the day witnesses were subpoenaed to appear before Lobatse Magistrate court.
One of the witness, who was scheduled to appear before court was Ms Elizabeth Ramolala, who died on the February 25. ENDS