Two suspects to be added in vehicle theft case
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday July 13, 2015 15:52
The state alleges that Zebe and others not before court falsely obtained a Land Cruiser and a Toyota D4D worth P250,000 and P360,000 respectively belonging to Destiny Car Rentals in Francistown. Zebe and others allegedly pretended to hire the cars in order to use them to travel to Jwaneng on January 17, 2015.
Prosecutor Mompoloki Gaboiphiwe told Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi that there are certain issues that the prosecution needs to iron out before enlisting two other suspects in the matter.
She opposed the accused to be given back his passport pending finalisation of investigations in the matter.
Although the names of the other accused persons in the matter have not been disclosed in court, The Monitor has it on good authority that one of them is a notorious criminal from Palapye who once had a stint in jail for various armed robbery cases.
Gaboiphiwe also said there are some documents that they want to get from the immigration department since the cars are said to be in Mozambique.
“Initially we had information that the cars were in South Africa, but we have since learnt from our Interpol colleagues that they are now in Mozambique.
This process needs time to conclude because it involves two countries. We oppose the accused to be given his passport pending finalisation of our investigations,” said Gaboiphiwe.
However, Zebe prayed with the court to give him his passport back because his business is suffering since he regularly travels outside the country for business-related purposes.
“Investigations in this matter have long commenced in January and I am wondering why they are taking too long to be completed. The prosecution has on numerous occasions promised to expedite their investigations, but had not honoured their promise,” said Zebe.
He said he has already paid P50,000 for his bail, which is a substantial amount of money that has crippled his business.
He added that the delay by the prosecution is greatly inconveniencing him personally since he has to travel from Gaborone to attend mentions.
Basupi said although he understood the concerns raised by the accused, the state should be given time to complete its investigations since matters involving two countries and Interpol normally take time to be completed.
“Also the value of the cars allegedly stolen exceeds P500,000. In the premise I find myself bound to adhere to the request sought by the prosecution.
It should be given more time to finish its investigations,” said Basupi.
The accused will appear in court on August 28, when the state is hopeful it will have completed its investigations and charge two more people for the offence. 'Times New Roman';mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>The NGO publicity secretary said the forum was a result of the worrisome status quo of disability awareness among Botswana citizens and concerned around invisible disabilities, as well as to promote a culture where targeted interventions are designed for peculiar disabilities. The event covered a wide range of topics such as learning disabilities, HIV/AIDS and disabilities, as well as disability etiquette.