Leshiba seeks bail in 'conspiracy to murder' case
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday July 25, 2023 06:00
The 41-year-old Leshiba allegedly wanted to have her husband Leshiba Oscar Tau killed in May 2022, but her attempts were foiled by security agents. She is facing a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
According to information from Kimberly Regional Court, where she appeared on Friday, Leshiba presented new facts. She told the court that her son who is doing Form 2 has no one to look after him since the person who was taking care of him had passed on. She said her brother, who was living with her son, committed suicide on June 22, 2023.
She also bemoaned that the State is taking time as it always sets a month or two apart from the next trial dates. The State argued that even if she could get bail, she is not going to be able to take care of her son as the bail conditions will not allow her to travel outside the country. The State also argued that she is a flight risk who just wants to get released and skip the country back to Botswana. They also argued that the trial is nearly finished as there are only three witnesses left before it can be completed.
The State argued that she should count her blessings concerning her trial as it has started, while there are people who were arrested in 2020 and have not yet started their trials given she was only arrested last year in May.
Following a joint operation by members of the Northern Cape Provincial Organised Crime and Kimberley Crime Intelligence, Leshiba was arrested at the Indian Centre in Kimberley when she allegedly engaged hitmen to murder her estranged husband.
Following a weeklong intelligence gathering and surveillance, the team executed the arrest with the assistance of agents who posed as the said hitmen. It is alleged that Leshiba wanted the hitmen to kidnap and kill her husband and promised to pay them a substantial amount after the hit.
According to information The Monitor gathered, the duo married sometime in September 2021, however, months later she wanted her husband dead so she could have all his money. It is alleged that Tau only knew after his wife was arrested that she wanted him dead. “She consulted someone and asked them to assist with looking for hitmen to kill her husband and offered them money.
“The person(s) would then go to the police and disguised as hitmen. They had many meetings and gathered lots of information before an arrest was eventually made,” a source in the case said. It is alleged Leshiba planned that her husband would be kidnapped and forced to transfer all his money into a certain account whose card Leshiba held before having him killed. She was to then pay the guns for hire from the money in the transfer after clearing all other accounts. Judgment for the bail hearing will be given on August 3. The trial will proceed on August 25.