Foreman fined for assaulting junior

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Wednesday April 16, 2014 12:09

 

The court heard that Mompati Molefe from Ratholo assaulted Bontle Rantika, at the University of Botswana last year. He is said to have twisted and injured Rantika’s arm and back last November, after he accused her of leaving her post to visit a fellow employee on the premises.

Molefe admitted the offence but claimed that the complainant was defiant and refused to return to her post when he approached her. He accused Rantika of lying, saying that she disobeyed his orders. He was arrested after Rantika reported him to Central Police Station in Gaborone. A police officer from the station presented medical evidence to the court.

Rantika claimed that Molefe found her drinking tea with a colleague and assaulted her. She dismissed Molefe’s claims that she refused to return to her post saying that she had never defied him in all the time she had worked with him.

In mitigation, Molefe pleaded with the court to be lenient, saying a jail sentence would result in him losing his job. He added that he was taking care of his child and his father.  Urban Customary Court president, Dikwalo Monametsi said while he could have sentenced Molefe to a year in prison and four strokes, he took cognisance of the fact that the accused was a first offender.