Detractors Wish Majaga ill
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday January 25, 2021 17:56
The state alleges that Majaga defiled an underage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between September 2019 and May 2020, at Malelejwe cattle post, a settlement on the outskirts of Nata village in the Central District of Botswana.
Majaga’s detractors wish that he could be found guilty of the offence so that a by-election can be held in the constituency.
The Monitor contacted Majaga to speak on what his detractors say about him, but after answering the phone call he disconnected the line when this reporter sought his comment.
Upon a follow-up call, Majaga’s phone line remained dead.
Majaga’s trial will begin even though a forensic report from the Botswana Police Service (BPS) forensic laboratory dated September 23, 2020, concluded that no biological relationship was established between the DNA profiles obtained from the referenced blood samples relating to Majaga and the child.
While the forensic affidavit concluded there were no biological ties between Majaga and the child, the state has now assembled a battalion of witnesses to testify against the legislator in his alleged defilement case. Twenty-three witnesses take the stand against him.
Legal experts posit that at law, the fact that DNA evidence was not established does not necessarily mean that Majaga is off the hook because circumstantial evidence may still link him with the offence.
Majaga was granted bail in the matter on condition that he signs his own recognisance in the sum of P3,000, bring two sureties who shall each bind themselves with P1,000, shall not commit any crime whilst on bail, report once every month at Central Police Station in Gaborone and attend court as and when required to do so.
In the wake of Majaga’s indictment for defilement, the BDP slapped him with indefinite suspension until the case concludes.
However, Majaga has remained defiant telling the opposition bloc in Parliament and a number of human rights organisations who wanted him to resign his seat that he will not do so.
Instead, Majaga said that calls for him to resign from Parliament until he clears himself of the charge were misguided and championed by non-governmental organisations that want to get money from donors using his name.
Majaga still maintains that the current allegations against him are a political witchhunt that is orchestrated by some of his enemies within the BDP who want to see to his downfall.
In fact, one of Majaga’s colleagues within the BDP was seen celebrating in social media after Majaga was charged with defilement.
The BDP operative, who was one of the people that Majaga defeated during the party’s primary elections in the build-up to the 2019 General Election, had already concluded that Majaga was guilty of the offence well before the trial even started.