Mzwinila appeals
Isaiah Morewagae | Wednesday February 26, 2014 15:36
The case was heard by Judge President Ian Kirby while Mzwinila appeared in person.
In convicting the two brothers, the then Regional Magistrate Lot Moroka said that it was unfortunate for former Gaborone North Member of Parliament, Michael Mzwinila, who is an uncle to the two convicts, to have come to court and lied about having given his nephew Michael money amounting to P200,000 in South Africa. Moroka is now judge of the High Court in Lobatse
Moroka said that evidence produced by the prosecution shows that the money was obtained by the two convicts during an armed robbery.
Moroka said that Mzwinila failed to produce any evidence that he had entered South Africa with the said money, which he had finally given to his nephew.
The prosecution, on the other hand, said Moroka, had produced witnesses, including an accomplice witness whose evidence about how the armed robbery was planned and finally carried out proved beyond doubt to be true. Moroka said the accomplice witness’s story was further corroborated by other witnesses, including Anastasia Maruapula, who had told the court that the stolen money was shared in her flat and that she was given P24,000, which she used to buy some household goods which were eventually confiscated by police during their investigations into the matter.
Besides Maruapula and the accomplice witness’s evidence, Moroka said that a taxi driver also testified that he had, on the day in question, driven Michael in his car from around the place where the armed robbery took place to Maruapula’s flat and that he was paid P10,000. The state, Moroka said, had established its case against the two convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
Initially, the two were facing trial along with their mother who Moroka earlier said had no case to answer and set her free.