Ralotsia Not Yet Off The Hook
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday October 26, 2020 16:34
This was revealed at Village Magistrate’s Court by the Investigating Officer Senior Superintendent Moatlhodi Ntuane after Ralotsia’s attorney Kgosietsile Ngakaagae submitted that BPS ought to clear his client from being a suspect in farming of the plant.
Ralotsia through Ngakaagae is opposing an application in which BPS have instructed him to produce a Lease Agreement entered into between himself and Fresh Standard (Pty) Ltd and have it presented to Ntuane.
BPS also wants Ralotsia to provide any other document that may be necessary in the investigation of the unlawful cultivation of 32 dagga plants at Kanngwe farm, allegedly for narcotic or psychotropic purposes that Fresh Standard planted.
In his affidavit, Ntuane states that he needs the information from Ralotsia for the purposes of investigations and or any other information that will assist in establishing the lawful ownership of the farm.
A rule nisi was granted to BPS early September after an ex parte application was made by BPS and was to be reviewed on September 18, but the matter was only argued on Wednesday.
Ngakaagae argued that the order prayed for by the applicant is overly broad and lacks specificity to be capable of both comprehension and compliance.
“This is like a fishing expedition. There is no information from the affidavit that there is a lease agreement and whether he signed it or not. They should also not just state they want any other information and specify what they specifically want the Court to order. As it is, there is no legal justification for the order sought,” he said.
He also argued that the BPS’ choice of process, an ex parte application, is not an appropriate one for the application and constitutes abuse of process.
“The essence of the order, as sought, would be to compel Ralotsia to help the police to investigate himself. That violates his right against self- incrimination. The sought order, infringes upon Ralotsia’s right to silence, and further offends the judge’s ruling. You can only seek his assistance in the matter if you follow due process and come out clear stating that he is not a suspect in the ongoing investigation and will not be charged. The application lacks statutory basis. It does not find anchorage on any provision of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, or any other law,” he said.
He added that if the BPS wanted to establish ownership of the farm they ought to check with Deeds Registrar arguing that looking for lease agreement means the police wanted something else they want to use to incriminate his client.
In his brief response, Ntuane said he could not guarantee that Ralotsia would not be charged.
“The BPS respects the rule of law hence we came before the Court to make a determination. At this stage I cannot give Ngakaagae confirmation that his client will not end up as an accused person or a suspect in the matter hence this investigation. That will not be a blank blanket for the investigation, not at this stage. We are still investigating and that is why we are here in Court seeking this order to help us get the lease agreement,” he said.
Quizzed on why they want the lease agreement, Ntuane said Ralotsia had mentioned the lease agreement in his Court papers. A ruling will be delivered early next month.