Jailed trio seek case withdrawal

Lebogang Mosikare | Thursday March 12, 2015 17:08

 

Yesterday, Justice Gaelapelwe Ketlogetswe of the Francistown High Court reserved judgment in the matter in which the three men argue that a stay of prosecution should be granted as the state has taken too long to bring the rape and robbery charges to trial.

Thatayaone Maano, Boikanyo Madome and Onalekitso Nkarabeng are accused of robbing Joshua Keweditswe, Ronny Kateera and a female companion of a cell phone and money using knives and screwdrivers at Palapye on June 28, 2008. They are also suspected of forcing the woman into a car boot, driving to Bonwakatlhako lands and raping her.

In court yesterday, the trio said they had not been tried since 2008 when they first faced the robbery and rape charges.

One of the men, Madome, said he had since been released from prison on the murder case after successfully appealing his sentence at the Court of Appeal. Madome said he was released on Tuesday.

“I spent six years and eight months in prison while the (new) case was not making any headway,” he said.

“I was released from jail on Tuesday in connection with the murder after I approached the Court of Appeal. Madome claimed that a magistrate in Palapye had dismissed the robbery and rape charges after prosecutors conceded that they did not have enough evidence to proceed in the case.

“These matters tortured me psychologically during my stay in jail for murder,” he said.

“In my view it will be a miscarriage of justice if we are tried because some of our witnesses are late while others may not remember what happened in 2008,” said Madome.

For his part, Maano said the State was not serious about prosecuting the matter.

“They were given ample time and could have long filed the affidavits.

“These matters have been pending before the courts since 2008 which is unreasonably long.

“I have appeared in court several times concerning these matters but the prosecution is not serious about bringing it to finality.

“I would be greatly prejudiced if the court grants the prosecution more time to put their house in order because my parents who had promised to engage an attorney for me are now late,” said Maano.

For his part, Nkarabeng claimed the State had dithered on the charges over the years.

“These charges were registered in 2008 and withdrawn in 2009 because of lack of evidence. The State reinstated them again in 2012 and since then there has been no progress.

“This clearly shows that the State is not treating these matters with the seriousness they deserve,” said Nkarabeng.

However, State counsel, Nancy Obonye-Ebineng, pleaded with the court for more time to enable the prosecutor and investigations officer to file affidavits that are missing from the court record.

She said the accused’s rights to trial within a reasonable time were not violated as they were already in jail on a different matter.

“We pray that the court should consider society’s interests when deciding on this application,” she said.

“The accused are charged with serious offences which in our view cannot be dismissed based on a baseless application like the one before court,” said Obonye-Ebineng.