19 Mar 2014

Magistrate Odirile Mokgatle has convicted Setallase Borakalalo (31) and Thatayaone Lesego (36) on three counts of house break-in, stealing from a dwelling house and theft common.

On the first count, the two unemployed men were reported to have jointly broken into and entered Mr Tshekiso Seane’s house in Mokhomma between March 10 and 13, 2014. They stole, among other things, a black landline phone, 5 CD radio, mattress as well as clothing items.

Between March 8 and 13, they were also alleged to have stolen Mr Allen Rantalajwe’s solar panel worth P3 000. Even though the first charge was initially stated as burglary, the court changed it to house break-in after Mr Mokgatle indicated the prosecution failed to reveal the time at which the two men committed the offence.

He noted that the time factor was crucial in such cases, whereby burglary only occurred at night. The magistrate therefore settled for a lesser offence of house break-in. The accused persons pleaded guilty to all charges, but indicated they did not intend to permanently deprive Mr Rantalajwe of his solar panel as they only wanted to charge their mobile phones.

Even though their acts were unlawful and they had no right of claim, the two were said to have been cooperative and also helped the police to retrieve the stolen items. In mitigation, the first accused being Setallase Borakalalo said he had a crippled child while the other one recently underwent a surgical operation.

He further told court that his orphaned girlfriend was sickly and he was the one taking care of her. He also said he was the only one taking care of his livestock. The second accused, Thatayaone Lesego noted that his wife was heavily pregnant and he was the sole breadwinner for his five school going children.

He also said he was taking care of his livestock. Sentencing was reserved for March 20, where previous convictions will be availed to court. ENDS