Cousin Murder Accused To Go On Trial
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday October 5, 2020 17:19
Tsametse’s case has been committed to the High Court leading to his incarceration pending a bail hearing scheduled for next week.
Trial dates for the case, which has been dragging on for over two years now, are yet to be set.
On March 13, 2018 Tsametse was brought into police custody for questioning over the alleged murder of 16-year-old Ofentse. This was after he made P50,000-worth of claims from Botswana Life where he had allegedly insured Ofentse’s life under two Mmoloki Funeral policies.
He was taken in for questioning and later released. He was arrested once again seven days later.
The court heard that Tsametse was reported to the police by two different traditional healers who he had allegedly approached seeking mystical powers to protect him from facing the wrath of the law for killing his cousin.
It is alleged that Tsametse confessed to the healers that he killed Ofentse and wanted them to use their powers to keep him from being prosecuted.After being denied bail four times at both the Magistrate’s and the High Court, Tsametse was finally granted bail by Broadhurst Magistrate Tshepo Thedi on July 31. Despite the prosecution’s plea not to grant Tsametse bail on account of having already confessed to the traditional doctors, Thedi set him free on condition that he paid P5,000 cash and provided two sureties who would pay P1,000 each.
The then Form 2 student at Ledumadumane Junior Secondary School, Ofentse was brutally stabbed to death on the night of March 3, 2018.
His throat was slit, and was left to die under a huge morula tree not far from Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School.
Tsametse’s aunt and mother to the deceased, Agnes Ofentse had previously told The Monitor that her children told her Ofentse had gone to charge his phone at a neighbour’s house, but never returned home. Instead he was found dead the following morning.